[Exclusive] 100 Times Carcinogens Detected Around Yongsan Camp Kim... Seoul City Requests "Prevent Leakage"

Cultural Heritage Survey Ends After Over a Year... Request to Resume Purification Work
Carcinogen TPH Up to 100 Times Higher... Average Also 10 Times Higher
Seoul City: "Oil Originating from Inside the Base, Continuous Leakage"
Project Team Recently Informed Yongsan District Office "Plan Submission Scheduled"

The government has confirmed that carcinogenic TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons) was detected in groundwater around the Camp Kim site, returned from the US Forces Korea, at levels up to 100 times the purification standard. In particular, this pollutant, which leaked from inside the base, has spread outside. This raises concerns not only about the government's plan to develop a large residential area with over 3,000 households but also about the health of nearby residents.

According to Seoul city and others on the 10th, the city recently requested the USFK Base Relocation Project Group to promptly establish a purification plan for the Camp Kim site and take measures to prevent leakage and spread. This is due to the delay of related purification work for over a year since cultural relics were discovered at the site around September last year. A Seoul city official explained, "With the recent completion of the cultural relic investigation, orders for (purification of) soil and groundwater within the base have resumed."

Areas around Camp Kim and former U.S. military sites in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Camp Kim, one of the US military bases in Yongsan, Seoul, is the western base of the Yongsan US military base where the US Forces Korea Special Operations Command (SOCKOR) was stationed, covering an area of about 48,000 square meters. After being returned in December 2020 due to the relocation of US Forces Korea, the government planned to build about 3,100 housing units here, with 1,400 of them to be supplied as public housing.

The problem was the contamination of soil and groundwater within the site. According to a government survey in 2020, TPH, indicating the degree of oil contamination at Camp Kim, was detected at 33.9 times the standard, and benzene, a carcinogen, was detected at 3.4 times the standard. Heavy metals such as lead were detected at over 263 times the standard. The government's large-scale purification efforts also failed to show effectiveness. Even after more than a year of purification work, tests showed that oil contamination levels and heavy metals like lead remained high.

Eventually, purification work was halted around September last year due to the discovery of cultural relics. The purification work was able to resume in July after the related investigation was completed. This means pollutants were left unattended and leaked for nearly a year.

Pollutants were also confirmed in quarterly investigations conducted by Seoul city. In the case of groundwater contamination, the standard for TPH is 1.5 mg/L, but the average detected level was 11 mg/L, with a maximum of 147 mg/L. TPH is a representative carcinogen classified as a strict purification target because it can cause fatal harm to the human body. Exposure to TPH is also analyzed to potentially cause lung damage or death.

Accordingly, Seoul city requested the USFK Base Relocation Project Group and Yongsan District Office to establish a concrete plan and begin purification work, expressing concerns about soil and surrounding groundwater contamination at the Camp Kim site. The official letter reportedly included an analysis stating that "free-phase petroleum originating from inside the Camp Kim base is continuously leaking outside." The USFK Base Relocation Project Group recently informed Yongsan District Office that they would "submit a (purification) plan soon."

However, industry experts believe that severe contamination of soil and groundwater will require a long time before the site can be utilized. Not only is the contamination of soil and groundwater within the site severe, but the situation of pollutants spreading and leaking outside the site is also increasing.

In the mid to long term, housing supply within the site is also expected to face setbacks. In 2020, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced through the 8.4 Supply Plan that 3,100 households would be supplied here, and the current government also promised to offer 1,400 units as public sales. Additionally, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), which is promoting the Camp Kim site development plan, is considering ways to increase supply by improving regulations. A Seoul city official said, "Safety of the site and surrounding areas must be secured first to proceed with specific development plans," adding, "We will continuously manage the contamination situation in the area and support the proper implementation of the designated purification plan."