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The Cost-Sharing IssueOne important item on which I was deeply involved during this period was
cost sharing, which concerned what portion of the costs of maintaining U.S.
forces in Korea should be paid by the ROK government. As the major mili-
tary power in the world, the United States maintains forces all over the globe.
A number of multilateral and bilateral agreements determine how and by
whom the costs of maintaining those forces are paid. When the ROK was
struggling to recover from the Korean War and was still developing its
economy, the United States assumed percent of these costs. As the Cold
War wound down in the late s and the U.S. budget deficit skyrocketed,
pressure increased from Washington to negotiate agreements similar to
others around the world, with Korea paying some portion of these expenses.
These negotiations were often protracted. Since both countries believed
that the presence of American forces in Korea was in the long-term inter-
ests of both South Korea and the United States, it was difficult to reach an
exact formula upon which each side could agree. The fact that the ROK pro-
vided without charge land and facilities for the use of U.S. forces added com-
plications in the effort to calculate each other’s contributions. So did the fact
that U.S. soldiers enjoyed amenities well beyond those provided by the ROK
for its troops. Eventually we devised a sort of graduated scale whereby Ko-
rea would pay an increasing portion of American costs, particularly those
associated with the many Korean employees and contractors of U.S. Forces
Korea. It was an example of give and take by both sides on an issue that,
given the new openness of South Korean politics and pressures from the U.S.
Congress to reduce the American troop presence, might have become a
source of friction.The Yongsan Golf CourseAnother issue was the future of the Yongsan Golf Course. USFK had occu-
pied the Yongsan area since the end of World War II and over the years had
built a small golf course on the south end of the post. At the time this facil-
ity was constructed, it was almost in the countryside, but with the rapid
growth of Seoul to the south, it had become very centrally located. The ex-
istence of this golf course in the center of the Seoul metropolitan area was
a sensitive political issue, especially in the now democratic ROK. Many Ko-
rean officials and others wanted the property returned to the government
for use as a park.