S.Korea, US Sign Amended SOFA on US Troops StatusSouth Korea and the United States Thursday signed revised Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) on the legal rights of US troops in the northeastern country.The amended SOFA was signed by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Lee Joung-binn and Evans Revere, minister-counselor at the US Embassy here. The new SOFA, which is soon go to the National Assembly for ratification, will take effect one month from the date the Seoul government notifies the United States that the domestic procedures have been completed. "Both governments expressed the mutual understanding that this SOFA revision satisfactorily reflects both nation's interests in a wide range of fields, including criminal jurisdiction, environment, labor, quarantine regulations, facilities and areas, non- appropriated fund facilities and civil proceedings," said a joint statement at the signing ceremony. At the ceremony, the South Korean minister said he is certain that the revised SOFA will contribute to a stable environment for the US forces in South Korea, foster friendship between the two countries and further strengthen the ROK-US alliance. The revised SOFA increases the number of crimes to be ruled by South Korean courts and allows US suspects to be handed over to the South Korean side before indictment. Under the amended SOFA, US forces have to show respects to South Korean environmental laws and abide by new stricter rules on the dismissal of South Korean employees from jobs on US bases. The SOFA, which governs the 37,000 US servicemen stationed here, went into effect in 1967 and saw its first revision in 1991. However, that agreement came under fire for allegation in favor of the US side. The two sides launched a second-round of revision talks in 1995 and eventually reached an agreement on the revision last December. |
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