The Pyeongtaek U.S. Army Base Expansion will be delayed for 5 years
The U.S. army base relocation is expected to be postponed until 2013. The government had planned to complete the relocation by the end of 2008.
One of the reasons, according to the government, is that the the Korean and U.S. governments have not yet come to an agreement on the cost of the relocation. The other reason is the repeated suspension of the construction due to the residents' struggles. However, the government has been widely criticized for the dramatic increase in the relocation budget, which is considered to be the real reason that the government has until now deferred setting up the master relocation plan.
The government has justified its efforts to brutaly destroy the village and fields by saying that they absolutely cannot delay the construction of the facilities. Now they admit that the deferment of the plan cannot be avoided. Daechuri residents and citizen groups are criticizing the government for lying to people.
If the relocation is deferred, the U.S. and Korean governments will also inevitably have to renegotiate the relocation plan. The KCPT has demanded that the renegotiation take into account the additional reduction of U.S. troops, the ever-increasing cost, the huge environmental destruction and the construction of unnecessary facilities such as golf courses on the base. However, the government has opposed these demands, arguing that, "this is a promise between two countries that can never be broken."
The Ministry of National Defence is now planing to demolish 50 more "vacant" houses next week. They already destroyed more than 90 houses last September.
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