With the completion of the transfer of ownership of the former US military base Camp Walker site in Nam-gu, Daegu, the 66,884㎡ (approximately 20,000 pyeong) area has fully returned to the citizens.
The partial return of the Daegu US military base Camp Walker site began with the 2002 Land Partnership Plan (LPP) agreement.
The nationwide US military base relocation plan under the Land Partnership Plan (LPP) agreement included the return plan for the helicopter landing pad (H-805) and part of the eastern runway, which had been a long-standing wish of the residents of Nam-gu, Daegu. The total area of the Daegu US military bases (Camp Walker, Camp Henry, Camp George) is 960,000㎡ (290,000 pyeong), but the returned area is 66,884㎡ (helicopter landing pad 28,967㎡, eastern runway 37,917㎡).
After prolonged suspensions and resumptions of negotiations between South Korea and the United States, a final agreement was reached on December 11, 2020, through the Joint Committee of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to return a portion of Camp Walker totaling 66,884㎡ (approximately 20,000 pyeong). It is known that US troops have been stationed at Camp Walker in Nam-gu, Daegu since 1959. With the partial release of the US military base, soil contamination cleanup has begun, and priority construction of the Daegu Library along with procedures for remaining development projects have been initiated.
Daegu City has operated an advisory group composed of university professors and experts for the soil contamination cleanup project led by the Ministry of National Defense, striving for a high-quality remediation. After soil contamination cleanup was carried out over three years following cleanup design and cultural heritage surveys, the land ownership transfer registration was completed on the 12th.
As a result, various development projects on the returned site such as Daegu Library, the 3rd Circular Road (eastern side), underground public parking lot, and cultural park are expected to gain momentum. Daegu City plans to complete the development projects on the returned site by 2025.
The Daegu Library to be built on the returned site will have one basement floor and four above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 14,957㎡, and is currently under construction with a budget of 63.4 billion KRW. Additionally, a 3rd Circular Road construction project, 40 meters wide and 700 meters long, is underway with a budget of 7.3 billion KRW. Furthermore, an underground public parking lot with two basement floors and one above-ground floor, capable of accommodating 290 passenger cars, is being built with an investment of 16.8 billion KRW, and the creation of a cultural park is also in progress.
Along with the relocation of the military base, Daegu City is promoting the relocation of the US military bases (Camp Walker, Camp Henry, Camp George). To this end, in September 2022, a SOFA project requirement was submitted to the Ministry of National Defense, and preparations are underway to have the project officially adopted as a SOFA task within this year.
Yoon Young-dae, Daegu City’s Special Advisor on Military Facility Relocation, said, “With the completion of the land ownership transfer, we expect the development of the Camp Walker returned site to gain momentum,” and added, “We will do our best to achieve visible results for the integrated relocation of the Daegu US military bases within this year.”
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