About 4,000 South Koreans working for the US military in their country were yesterday put on unpaid leave as Seoul and Washington bicker over funding for US forces.
Washington has stationed 28,500 troops in South Korea to defend it against North Korea, but the security allies’ relationship has been strained by Washington’s demands that Seoul pay billions of dollars more toward their costs.
The administration of US President Donald Trump initially insisted on US$5 billion per year — a more than fivefold increase.
Photo: AFP
US officials have said that they have since “compromised” on the figures, but seven rounds of negotiations, the most recent in the middle of last month, have failed to reach a deal.
The previous Special Measures Agreement, as the funding pact is known, expired at the end of December last year and US Forces Korea (USFK) last month said that it would be forced to start putting South Korean employees on leave from yesterday, when funds to pay their salaries ran out.
“This is an unfortunate day for us... It’s unthinkable... It’s heartbreaking,” USFK commander General Robert Abrams said in a statement.
“These are our employees, our coworkers, our teammates, and we consider them family,” he added. “They are vital to our mission.”
The furloughs so far apply to almost half of USFK’s nearly 9,000 South Korean staff.
They come as Seoul and the US military battle the COVID-19 pandemic — 13 cases related to USFK have been confirmed — and with North Korea carrying out a series of weapons launches.
“The US has put citizens of its security ally and their livelihood in jeopardy,” USFK Korean Employees Union secretary-general Son Gio told reporters.
“President Trump is also putting lives of US soldiers stationed in South Korea in danger, as the furlough will make things worse for those who have already been affected by the coronavirus outbreak within the bases,” Son said.
Ahead of yesterday’s furlough, South Korean negotiator Jeong Eun-bo said that Seoul and Washington had “substantially narrowed” their differences and were “at the final stage of coordination to settle a deal.”
“We urge the US to take measures to make sure the employees subject to the furlough scheme can swiftly go back to work,” he said, adding that the move could undermine military readiness on the Korean Peninsula.
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