USFK threatens Korean employees with unpaid leave

A U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) letter states the USFK will send 8,700 Korean employees on unpaid leave from April 15, 2019, if Seoul and Washington do not settle a deal on their defense cost-sharing by the end of this year. Courtesy of USFK Korean Employees Union

'Threat' comes amid defense cost-sharing negotiations between Seoul and Washington

By Yi Whan-woo

The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has sent a letter to the union of its Korean employees stating that it will place them on unpaid leave from mid-April 2019, if the ongoing defense-cost sharing negotiations between Seoul and Washington are not settled by the end of this year.

In the letter to USFK Korean Employees Union President Choe Ung-sik, USFK headquarters' Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Michael Minihan said, “Unfortunately, unless the ongoing SMA negotiations can be completed in a timely manner to avoid a lapse in labor funding, we will be required to issue a general furlough notice.”

“Unless a new SMA is agreed to, it will be necessary to implement the furlough effective April 15, 2019,” Minihan said.

This is viewed by some observers as an attempt to gain concessions from Korea as the negotiations over sharing the cost of stationing American troops here are making little headway. They say that the U.S. is “taking Korean workers hostage” to demand a bigger payment from the government.

Time has been running out in the negotiations in relation to the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a five-year defense contract between Seoul and Washington. It will expire Dec. 31.

The notice may possibly affect as many as 8,700 whose wages are co-paid by both the government and the USFK.

The unpaid leave, if implemented as reported, will violate South Korea's Labor Law.

The law stipulates workers must be given 70 percent of their monthly salary, if they are put on unpaid leave by the employers.

“The USFK, of course should observe the Labor Law here, but it is likely it will cite the status of forces agreement (SOFA) to absolve itself from responsibility,” a Korean Employees Union member said on condition of anonymity. “I'd say the USFK is taking its Korean employees hostage to press the government in the defense cost-sharing talks.”

Under the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), renewed every five years, the government Korea pays about $830 million per year (currently) to the U.S. to offset the cost of 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea.

Citing sources, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly complained about South Korea's “free ride” on U.S. defense, wants Seoul to pay 150 percent of the current deal, or about $1.2 billion.

Against this backdrop, Seoul and Washington have yet to strike a deal so far over the new SMA.

The two sides held their 10th round of talks in Seoul from Tuesday to Thursday but remained poles apart over the contract period and other contentious issues, according to government officials.

When asked whether the two sides will meet again this year, an official said, “It's unlikely.”