Uprooted Daechuri residents say they will finalize compensation package mid-January
The South Korean government and about 60 households in the villages of Daechuri and Doduri, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, have moved toward an agreement on compensation for moving and relocation costs, paving the way for an end to the 41-month standoff over a U.S. military base relocation there. A government delegation led by Kim Chun-seok, a senior official at the Office of Government Policy Coordination, met with representatives of the local residents on January 2 at Pyeongtaek City Hall to discuss the government’s support plans. According to government officials and local residents, both sides said they would make a final agreement about financial support plans by mid-January in exchange for the government’s help during the relocation process. To meet the target date, both sides agreed to form a working-level task force consisting of three representatives from each side. However, some obstacles remain. Local residents want to leave their homes only after a government-built temporary shelter for them, still under construction, is completed. The Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, wants them to leave within the month and use funds for housing rental instead. Regarding the financial support plans, so that the relocated residents can open businesses, the government plans to rent space to the residents in a 25-square-meter commercial site in a newly built town near Pyeongtaek, as well as provide farmland to each household.But despite the residents’ long protest, some of the residents and civic groups involved in the situation say the government’s plan is still not financially attractive. Meanwhile, as discussion between the two sides has resumed, the government said it would delay its plans to evacuate and bulldoze the remaining homes at the two villages. Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]
