Politics Impede $5.6-Billion South Korea Program, Says GAO
The report, submitted July 15 to several military affairs congressional committees, says work authorized under the 2002 U.S.-South Korean Land Partnership Plan (LLP) and set to continue through 2011 relies on unclear troop deployments and uncertain funding sources in both countries.
GAO points out that $1 billion in current and planned work at one key site, Yongsan Army Garrison in Seoul, and other bases nearby, "has recently been put on hold, canceled or redirected." Affected projects in Yongsan alone included new apartment high-rises, a hospital, sports complex, mini mall and an overpass between the bases northern and southern areas, says GAO. This affects $218 million of work budgeted for fiscal 2004.