DONGDUCHEON — The city of Dongducheon in Gyeonggi Province has formally asked the central government for compensation and support after ceding 42% of its land to U.S. military use, arguing that development is blocked because roughly 70% of all unreturned U.S. base land in South Korea sits within its borders.
Mayor Park Hyung-deok submitted a policy proposal on the 27th at a national policy briefing for mayors and county chiefs held at the Government Complex Seoul and the Yeongbingwan guest house at Cheong Wa Dae, the city said on the 28th. The proposal centers on the prompt return of long-held U.S. military land, state-led development of those sites, and early approval and central funding for extending the Great Train Express (GTX)-C line to Dongducheon.
The city built its case on figures. It has provided 42% of its total area for U.S. military use, and about 70% of all unreturned base land nationwide remains concentrated in Dongducheon. That has severely constrained urban development and efforts to revive the local economy, the city said.
The city asked for the prompt return of the remaining Camp Nimble site and the Camp Mobile site, both of which are eligible for return. For Camp Casey and Camp Hovey, it requested a concrete return timetable.
The city also called for special compensation and a state support framework for areas that have been held for extended periods. It urged the government to honor commitments to state-led development of returned sites, including a defense industry cluster within a national industrial complex and a national forest education center at the Jimbols training range.
The GTX-C extension is tied to the city's strained finances. The city asked the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for prompt approval, saying the delay has hampered plans for a transit center and development around the station area.
The extension requires about 84.4 billion won in project costs and roughly 5.3 billion won in annual operating expenses. With the city's fiscal independence ratio at just 12.7%, its capacity to cover those costs on its own is limited, and it has asked that the project be folded into the development of returned U.S. base land and funded from the national budget.
"The return of U.S. military land and the GTX-C extension to Dongducheon are the core tasks that will determine the city's future," Park said. "We will continue consultations with the relevant ministries and do our utmost to see this proposal reflected in government policy and turned into change that residents can feel."
