The Ministry of National Defense said on the 9th that the effectiveness of the "Pyeongtaek Support Act for the Transfer of U.S. Forces Korea," which supports the transfer of the Yongsan U.S. Forces Korea base in Seoul to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, has been extended until 2030.

A helicopter flies over Camp Humphreys, the U.S. Forces Korea base in Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on the 9th as the South Korea-U.S. combined exercise Freedom Shield (FS) begins. South Korea and the United States hold the first-half combined training Freedom Shield through the 19th to strengthen their combined defense posture. /Courtesy of News1

According to the Ministry of National Defense, the government approved a partial amendment to the "Special Act on Support for Pyeongtaek City, etc., due to the transfer of U.S. Forces Korea bases (Pyeongtaek Support Act for the Transfer of U.S. Forces Korea)" at a Cabinet meeting on the 2nd and promulgated it that day.

Under the amendment, the effectiveness of the Pyeongtaek Support Act for the Transfer of U.S. Forces Korea, which was set to expire on Dec. 31 this year, has been extended by four years. The Ministry of National Defense said the amendment would give momentum to the Yongsan Relocation Plan (YPR).

The Pyeongtaek Support Act for the Transfer of U.S. Forces Korea had previously been extended in 2011, 2017 and 2020 to persuade Pyeongtaek residents and secure funding, to transfer U.S. military bases and build facilities, and to support Pyeongtaek residents.

However, some projects pushed for regional development in Pyeongtaek have not been completed, and the need to extend the enforcement period of the law has been raised to finish projects such as the Yongsan residual facilities project and the remediation of returned provided sites.

Accordingly, a bill to extend the Pyeongtaek Support Act for the Transfer of U.S. Forces Korea was introduced in Apr. last year and passed the National Assembly's plenary session in May this year. It was approved last month and promulgated on this day.

Jeong Cheol-jae, head of the Relocation Program Management Group for U.S. Forces Korea Bases, called it "a bridgehead to bring the 'beautiful ending' to the U.S. Forces Korea base transfer project."

Based on the Pyeongtaek Support Act for the Transfer of U.S. Forces Korea enacted in 2004, the Relocation Program Management Group for U.S. Forces Korea Bases completed the transfer of U.S. military bases, including the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek in Oct. 2022. With this amendment, the plan is to wrap up the transfer project.

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