SEOUL — A Camp Walker helicopter pad and about 19 acres of land will revert to South Korean civilian authority for the first time in several generations, Daegu officials said Wednesday.
A Daegu official spokesman told Stars and Stripes that a memorandum with U.S. Forces Korea will be signed this month to transfer the H-805 helipad and surrounding land.
U.S. Forces Korea said it could not confirm the city’s announcement because the agreement is under negotiation.
The city plans to build a road connecting the third beltway between the Jungdong Bridge and the southern part of the Yongdae crossroads, officials said.
They also plan to use the land to build either social service or recreational facilities for residents, said Son Ki-young, spokesman for Daegu’s Nam-gu, or south district.
"This is long hoped-for and awaited by the local people, who are very happy and pleased with this news," said Son.
The acreage was one of several base parcels throughout the country pegged for transfer in 2006 as part of an earlier deal, but negotiations over costs and other factors brought delays.
The Japanese military used the land where the helicopter pad sits during its 1910-45 occupation, Son said.
It then became South Korean military property and was transferred to USFK following the Korean War, he said.
