Pyeongtaek City: "The State Must Compensate First for Soil Pollution Cleanup Costs at US Military Sites"

Lawsuit Filed Claiming 1.6 Billion KRW in Compensation for Cleanup Costs at Camp Humphreys and Two Other Sites

Pyeongtaek City in Gyeonggi Province has filed a lawsuit demanding that the government of the Republic of Korea prepay the cleanup costs related to soil contamination on U.S. military bases.

On the 22nd, Pyeongtaek City announced that it had submitted a complaint to the court on the 20th, claiming approximately 1.6 billion KRW in damages from the state for the cleanup costs of contaminated soil at three sites around the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) concession areas.

Pyeongtaek City is drawing attention as it files a lawsuit against the government seeking damages for soil contamination around the US military base. Officials from Pyeongtaek City are investigating the actual conditions of soil contamination around the US military base.
[Photo by Pyeongtaek City]

The 1.6 billion KRW in damages claimed this time is the total cleanup cost for pollutants detected in soil surveys conducted from 2018 to 2019 around ▲Camp Humphreys ▲CPX Training Ground ▲Osan Air Base, in accordance with the "Special Act on Support for Areas Surrounding USFK Concession Areas." The survey results showed that petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), benzene, cadmium, zinc, and other pollutants were detected in 1,617㎥ of soil around Camp Humphreys and CPX Training Ground, and 843㎥ around Osan Air Base.

The city explained that although the soil contamination was caused by the U.S. military, the lawsuit was filed against the state based on provisions related to the "Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Korea and the U.S." and the State Compensation Act. In fact, the Civil Special Act concerning the SOFA stipulates that when the USFK causes damage to a third party other than the Korean government, the state must prepay compensation for the damage in accordance with the State Compensation Act.

Previously, in 2015, Pyeongtaek City conducted cleanup of areas around the concession zones and filed a lawsuit claiming 1 billion KRW in damages the following year, winning a partial ruling and recovering 870 million KRW.

The city stated that it will make every effort to win this lawsuit and, separately, will conduct follow-up inspections over the next three years to prevent secondary contamination. A city official said, "We will cooperate with the U.S. military to investigate pollution sources within the base and operate a citizen participation committee to ensure that the soil and groundwater around the USFK bases are preserved cleanly."