Hundreds of Korean workers employed on U.S. Army bases in the South rallied on Monday against the American military's plan to lay them off as part of an efforts to save money.
The U.S. military in Korea plans to cut more than 230 Korean workers by the end of February next year after its installation command, the U.S. Army Installation Management Command-Korea, was deactivated in September, according to the Korean workers.
The deactivation of the installation command was part of the U.S. military's cost-saving efforts as Washington comes under intense pressure to cut its defense budget.
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has already notified the layoff plan to the Korean workers, said Kim Joo-il, a regional head of a union of Korean workers employed by the USFK.
"The U.S. military unilaterally notified the layoff plan to us," Kim told reporters during the rally held in the northern city of Uijeongbu, home to several U.S. bases.
Kim demanded the U.S. military "immediately withdraw its plan to lay off Korean workers and not to shift the responsibility of U.S. defense budget cuts to the Korean workers."
Officials at the USFK were not immediately available for comments.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Despite the planned defense budget cuts of more than $500 billion over the next decade, U.S. officials have pledged that Washington's military role in the Asia-Pacific region will not be affected. (Yonhap)