SEOUL — The United States and South Korea each will pay roughly half of the nearly $12 billion bill to transform the U.S. military on the peninsula, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed late Tuesday afternoon.
The announcement that the “master plan” was agreed upon followed 17 months of negotiations between the countries.
“We are pleased that the Pyeongtaek Master Plan has been announced and is moving forward,” U.S. Forces Korea wrote via e-mail Tuesday. “While many smaller actions still remain to be done, this agreement represents the commitment of United States and the Republic of Korea to the modernization and consolidation of U.S. Forces at Pyeongtaek.”
U.S. and South Korean officials had agreed to move the U.S. military from Seoul and all points north to a greatly expanded Camp Humphreys, south of the nation’s capital. The lengthy debates focused on which country would pay for which part of the move.
South Korea already had purchased more than 2,300 acres of farmland to expand the camp, and work on the first section — Parcel 1 — began recently.
According to Tuesday’s release, the final project will see 44,000 U.S. troops, Department of Defense civilians, family members, Koreans who augment the U.S. Army and other South Korean personnel on the camp.
About 500 buildings with a total 35 million square feet of capacity must be built to accommodate the transformation, according to the release. The buildings include: headquarters and administrative facilities, maintenance facilities, supply and storage buildings, family and unaccompanied housing, dining facilities and a hospital.
The South Korean consortium that will run the project is to be selected by May, according to the release.
