By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

South Korea will help construct U.S. military facilities needed here instead of providing cash from next year under the latest defense cost-sharing pact, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Thursday.

The plan is aimed at ensuring transparency in the use of the host-nation funds, they said.

Under the deal, reached earlier this week, Korea will construct 30 percent of U.S. facilities next year, and the ratio will increase to 60 percent in 2010 and 100 percent in 2011, they added.

For example, if the United States asks Korea to construct facilities, the two sides are to conduct a feasibility study. Once agreed on, the United States will be in charge of construction, design and supervision while South Korea manages a related contract with local firms and overall construction.

``The host-nation funds cover U.S. Forces Korea's non-personnel stationing costs in terms of the salaries of Korean employees at U.S. bases, logistics procurements and maintenance, and military construction,'' a ministry official said, asking not to be identified. ``As for the construction of facilities, Seoul is to construct every U.S. building necessary beginning in 2012 under the latest deal.''

On Tuesday, the ministry announced that Seoul and Washington concluded their Special Measurement Agreement (SMA) negotiations after five rounds of unsuccessful talks since July.

Under the five-year agreement, Korea will provide about 760 billion won ($578 million) to the United States next year, up 2.5 percent from this year (741.5 billion won), according to a press release.

Korea will increase its share each year in accordance with the consumer price index, but the annual hike rate will be capped at 4 percent, it said.

Korea currently contributes about 42 percent of the cost related to the presence of 28,000 U.S. troops here. The United States wants South Korea to spend more to reach a 50-50 level.

Under the SMA deal, Washington is allowed to use part of the host-nation funds in relocating its 2nd Infantry Division, stationed north of Seoul to the south of the Han River.

Liberal Korean lawmakers and progressive civic activists, however, argue it runs counter to bilateral agreements on U.S. base relocation.

Opponents claim that if the United States uses the host nation's burden sharing funds, it means South Korean taxpayers will practically foot most of the $10 billion bill for the relocation project.

Under the Land Partnership Plan (LPP), reached in 2002, the United States promised to foot the bill for moving the bases, while South Korea is required to bear the cost of relocating Yongsan Garrison in Seoul under the Yongsan Relocation Plan (YRP), finalized in 2004.

Under a master plan drawn up by the two governments last year, Seoul agreed to pay for slightly more than half of the $10 billion program to move U.S. bases to Camp Humphreys, which will accommodate more than 44,000 U.S. servicemen, their families, base workers and South Korean soldiers.

The base relocation had originally been planned to be completed by 2008, but the timeline has been delayed several times due to protests by Korean farmers in the Pyeongtaek area and other technical problems with constructing and modernizing facilities at the camp, which is to be tripled in size.

The official target date is 2012, but recent reports have said that figure has been revised again to around 2016.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr