1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (ROK) held a ceremony for relocating the Pyeongtaek SOFA Support Center at the M Plaza building in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, on October 23, 2019.

○ The ceremony brought together Won Yoo-chul, a politician of the Liberty Korea Party (first representative in Pyeongtaek), Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Yoon Soon-gu of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Major General Daniel J. Christian, Deputy Commanding General for Sustainment of Eighth Army, Mayor Jung Jang-seon, Chairperson of the Pyeongtaek City Council Gwan Young-hwa and about 80 Pyeongtaek citizens.

○ The event featured welcoming and congratulatory remarks by key participants, followed by a signboard ceremony, a brief reception and a photo exhibition.

2. In his congratulatory remarks, Deputy Minister Yoon commended the efforts made by USFK soldiers and their families who have shown their commitment to maintaining steadfast defense posture for the ROK-U.S. alliance and creating a peaceful and secure environment on the Korean Peninsula. He also underscored the importance of the diplomatic, military and strategic significance of Pyeongtaek where most USFK service members and their families are being stationed.

○ In addition, Deputy Minister Yoon mentioned that it is the goal of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make greater efforts to ensure a safe and amicable environment under which the U.S. service members and their families can live in harmony, and that it is the goal of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make the memories of such cultural exchange and personal relationships continue beyond the term spent by USFK service members here, so that such ties could eventually form an important pillar of cultural understanding and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs established the Pyeongtaek SOFA Support Center in 2016 under close cooperation with the National Assembly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Economy and Finance as well as the City of Pyeongtaek. The Pyeongtaek SOFA Support Center, along with the SOFA Counseling Center Seoul Office (set up in 2013), is implementing a variety of activities such as dealing with civil petitions including providing counseling services to the ROK nationals who experience inconveniences related to USFK operations within Pyeongtaek; establishing cooperative relations and reinforcing cooperation with relevant authorities such as provincial organizations and police offices regarding the USFK; and planning and operation of various exchange projects for the harmonious development of civil-military relations between the USFK and local communities.

○ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Pyeongtaek International Exchange Foundation (September 2019), and agreed to step up mutual cooperative system in terms of planning and operating various projects for boosting various types of exchanges between Pyeongtaek citizens and the USFK, and to continue to discover matters of mutual interest through regular meetings against the backdrop of USFK’s Pyeongtaek Era.

○ According to results of a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs among about 800 residents who live near the USFK bases in August 2019, respondents were very much willing to maintain good relationships with the USFK (94.5%), most of whom (74.1%) said that they would be willing to become very close friends with USFK service members beyond being their neighbors or colleagues.

4. On the occasion of the relocation of the Pyeongtaek SOFA Support Center, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to take swift initial responses to USFK-related challenges and incidents within Pyeongtaek and offer customized support services, and actively discover diverse exchange programs toward the goal of realizing more mature civil-military relations between USFK and the ROK nationals.