US military begins work to relocate base

Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal, the commanding general of the 8th U.S. Army, speaks next to a statue of Gen. Walton H. Walker, a Korean War hero, at Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul, Tuesday. The U.S. Army began the relocation of its base from Yongsan to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, with the transfer of the statue. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

The U.S. Army at Yongsan Garrison, central Seoul, began base relocation in earnest to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province Tuesday, to what will be its largest overseas base.

The large-scale relocation project began with a historic ceremony to mark the relocation of the Gen. Walton H. Walker monument, hosted by the Eighth U.S. Army in front of its headquarters.

Gen. Walker was the commander of the Eighth Army when it was deployed to the Korean Peninsula with the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War on June 25, 1950.

“The Gen. Walker statue will be moved from Yongsan to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek,” the Eighth Army said in a release, noting that this event will mark the beginning of the Eighth Army’s relocation.

Born in 1889 in Texas, Gen. Walker has been called a Korean War hero as he played a pivotal role in defending against North Korea. Under the general’s command, “the United Nations Command was able to transition to the offensive and soon thereafter, the North Korean People’s Army was in full-retreat” in September of 1950, the Eight Army said. He was killed in a jeep accident in Korea in December 1950.

“Despite the statue being moved, make no mistake about it. Our alliance ‘gachigapsida (Let’s go together)’ spirit remains ironclad and strong,” Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal, the commanding general of the Eighth Army, said in a speech.

Participants in the event also included U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks and retired Army Gen. Paik Sun-yup, the honorary commander of the Eighth Army.

The Eighth Army will complete its relocation by June, while the USFK headquarters will be moved by November, according to officials.

The allies have been carrying out projects to relocate the USFK and return land to the South Korean people through two major plans ― the Yongsan Relocation Plan (YRP) and the Land Partnership Plan (LPP).

The YRP is to relocate the U.S. Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul including USFK headquarters and Eighth Army headquarters to Pyeongtaek, while the LPP will consolidate 2nd Infantry Division from north of Seoul to Pyeongtaek, located 70 kilometers south of the capital.

The expenses for the YRP are estimated at about 8.86 trillion won, while those for the LPP are estimated at 7.1 trillion won. South Korea shoulders the cost of the YRP, and the U.S. bears that of the LPP.

Officials said the allies have completed 94 percent of the construction work as of March to transform Camp Humphreys, a U.S. Army garrison, into a gigantic base that will be three times larger than its old size and equipped with up-to-date facilities.

The size of the camp will triple from 1,041 acres to 3,453 acres, and the population will increase from 11,000 to 42,000, officials added.