The suspicion that the U.S. military may be testing the Zika virus at its laboratory here is spreading among South Koreans, with civic groups holding a protest demanding explanations from U.S. Forces Korea.

A local media outlet reported earlier this week on an April article about the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center that had reportedly hinted at a possible study of the virus in the Yongsan garrison.

“Participants in the project are already looking to add a Zika virus detection capability in Yongsan,” Brady Redmond, the leader of the Joint USFK Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition project was quoted as saying.

On Thursday, the USFK said the U.S. military had not brought any Zika samples to Korea, and stressed that the report specified that the goal is to add “detection capabilities.” But it did not mention whether or not it plans to conduct a test at the South Korean lab.

Some 50 groups, including People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the People’s Action Against the War and the Realization of Peace, held a joint press conference and a protest in front of the Yongsan base reiterating the allegation.

“We cannot help but wonder if acquiring a (virus) detection capability is possible at all without bringing in samples. Why would the ECBC make such an announcement if (the U.S. military) is not pursuing Zika-related studies?” the groups said in a joint statement.

They said conducting an experiment on the little-known Zika virus without consent from the South Korean government and its people would be an infringement of the country’s sovereignty. The groups urged the USFK to reveal details of the study, its purposes and its content.

Last year, the USFK came under fire for accidently shipping anthrax samples into the country on several occasions since 2009.

However, the Zika virus has already entered the country in isolated cases through tourism unrelated to the U.S. military. South Korea’s health authorities on Tuesday confirmed the nation’s fifth case of Zika infection.

The ECBC, subordinate command of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, is an organization for non-medical chemical and biological defense.

According to the article in question, its researchers and technicians are “dramatically increasing the ability of USFK to analyze samples of suspected biological warfare agents.” It claimed to have done so by increasing sample throughput at Korea-based labs from two to three samples of suspected biological warfare agents per day to dozens per day.

Woo Hee-jong, a professor of veterinary medicine at Seoul National University, said the article implied that tests related to Zika virus would be conducted at the Seoul-based labs. He said establishing a system for Zika virus detection requires a sample of the virus. 


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)