Seoul to Foot Bill for Imaginary Clean Up Costs

One pillar of the anti-US hate groups has collapsed:

Seoul and Washington yesterday finalized the return of 14 U.S. military bases to Korea but the agreement finds Seoul agreeing to shoulder as much as 40 billion won ($42 million) for the necessary environmental clean-up of the military installations.
A total of 18 bases, including four that already have been returned, are now back in Seoul’s hands while negotiations for the return of the remaining 41 bases continues.
Under an agreement with Washington called the Land Partnership Plan, the United States will return 59 bases to South Korea by 2011. Until now, Seoul and Washington have been at odds over how to split the cost related to the environmental cleaning process.

The entire camp pollution issue is a total fraud and now the Korean government is paying for helping perpetuate the fraud. Of course the anti-US group Green Korea has now weighed in on the announcement from the Korean government:

Civic groups such as Green Korea United criticized the government yesterday for giving in to Washington on the issue.
“The U.S. soldiers have left and they left Korea a lot of waste. This should not serve as an example for other bases to be returned in the future. U.S. forces need to be asked clearly to take responsibility,” said the organization in a statement.

Here is the source of Green Korea’s concern about this issue:

In February, Green Korea and some media outlets said they acquired leaked Ministry of the Environment data that showed unsafe ground and water contamination levels at several sites. They included camps Page, Garry Owen, Greaves, Stanton, Edwards, Giant, Falling Water and Howze, the Kimpo post terminal, the Freedom Bridge and the Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and North Carolina firing ranges.

Can you believe that firing ranges have lead contamination? I tell you I am shocked! What is even more laughable about this is that the firing ranges are not used exclusively by USFK but by the ROK Army as well. Why isn’t the ROK Army being investigated for pollution? I found the inclusion of Freedom Bridge even funnier because USFK soldiers guarded that bridge. How the heck do soldiers pulling guard duty which also includes Koreans by the way, pollute a bridge to the point that these environmentalists say it is unsafe for the public? If this bridge is unsafe than every bridge in Korea needs to be shut down!

For those who have never served in Korea, the USFK camps are literally an oasis of green in the middle of dense urban cities. The camps after the Korean war were located on the outskirts of Korean cities but the camps have now been swallowed up by the growing cities which are a sign of Korea’s amazing development since the war. It is partly because of this development that USFK wants to relocate the camps to the sparsely populated Camp Humphreys area. If anything the USFK camps are the cleanest piece of land in the surrounding communities and some have been designated to become parks when handed over; yet the anti-US hate groups have successfully used this issue to further delay the USFK relocation.

That is why I say release the pollution findings with detailed data to check for errors because I wouldn’t be surprised if the findings were “Dr. Hwang-ed for political reasons especially when these so call environmental groups have been linked to North Korean spies.

If USFK really wanted to prove a point they should have environmental studies conducted by their own researchers on USFK bases compared to the surrounding communities. Does anyone think for example that Yongsan Garrison is more dangerous to the environment than Seoul? Case in point while Green Korea is busy complaining about these camps, Korean citizens in multiple cities are drinking water with high levels of uranium and Green Korea could care less.

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usinkorea
17 years ago

Here is a good image USFK used to illustrate part of what you said. I had to google to find the image I knew I had used, but I couldn't find the USFK report that it was presented in. It was on the "Land Partnership Plan" and meant to explain it to the Koreans and members of the press a few years ago..

http://www.usinkorea.org/images/popgrowthmap.JPG

Jerry
Jerry
17 years ago

Freedom Bridge actually refers to the barracks that the soldiers guarding the bridge lived in, not the bridge itself. And it's polluted with various hazardous wastes like asphalt pavement, which, according to Korean law have to be removed and put in drums for safe disposal (really). This law, like most others, is probably only enforced one month a year for locals and all year long for foreigners.

Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
17 years ago

I wonder if anyone from Green Korea has seen the pristine stream that flows through Yongsan's Main Post.

trackback
17 years ago

[…] [GI Korea] Seoul to Foot Bill for Imaginary Clean Up Costs Published: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:41:21 +0000 One pillar of the anti-US hate groups has collapsed: Seoul and Washington yesterday finalized the return of 14 U.S. military bases to Korea but the agreement finds Seoul agreeing to shoulder as much as 40 billion won ($42 million) for the necessary environmental clean-up of the military installations. A total of 18 bases, including four that […] Read More… […]

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