[National]The Uneasy 'Dialogue' At Daechuri

"Dialogue, or a breakdown?"

The Ministry of National Defense (NMD) publicly expressed a skeptic position a day after reaching an agreement to solve the conflict following the relocation and expansion of a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, and that is causing controversy. It raises concerns that the "dialogue" is to justify an "enforcement of administrative execution by proxy" and there may be new confrontations.

Background

On April 30 the NMD agreed to solve the Daechuri issue through continuous dialogue because the two sides desperately wanted to prevent a worse case scenario expected to take place following the forced relocation and introduction of troops.

But Gen. Park Kyung-seo, a chief of the ministry’s U.S. base relocation project team, said, "We will continue the dialogue, but unless the real representatives show up, we won’t be able to prolong the dialogue." The Pan-South Korea Solution Committee Against US Base Extension in Pyeongtaek, however, expressed strong doubt about the announcement of the ministry, saying, "The conversation should not be made to force the relocation of the base. It should be a real one based on sincerity."

At Issue

The two sides agreed to solve the problem through conversations, but it won’t be easy. Besides the representativeness of the delegation, there are several problems which should be settled before having practical dialogue, such as whether to stop farming and receiving an apology from the ministry, which conducted a rehearsal of a major administrative action with the police on April 28. Even if they overcome the first crisis, the two sides are expected to confront each other again over support for the residents of the designated region of relocation and the justification of relocation project.

The NMD's Maginot Line is that as the project is a national policy business, the construction should start from May, while the civic group insists that the compensation for the residents is a minor problem. According to the group, as the U.S. announced an additional reduction of USFK and it is physically impossible for Yongsan garrison to move into Pyeongtaek in 2008, there needs to be a policy decision regarding the relocation of the USFK facility.

Outlook

If the dialogue fails, a confrontation between the NMD and the residents and civil rights groups will be inevitable. The experts point that the two sides should try to recover trust for each other and they should each concede a little from their respective positions.

Kim Do-hyeong, Hong Yong-deok, [e-mail]