USFK protest over Osan Air Base search raises eyebrows

A recent protest lodged by United States Forces Korea (USFK) over a special counsel team’s search at Osan Air Base has raised questions among Seoul officials about the basis of the complaint, sources said Friday. The rare protest by the U.S. military focuses on the fact that the search was not communicated in advance, even though investigators passed through areas managed by U.S. forces to reach a Korean-managed zone — their intended target during the search on July 21. Washington has claimed that the move violated procedures under the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which governs the legal status of the U.S. military’s operations in Korea. Seoul, however, appears to argue that passing through the U.S.-managed area was unavoidable for the investigators to access their target area, and thus does not constitute a violation of SOFA. "The investigators’ entry to Osan base was carried out in line with established security and entry procedures agreed upon by both sides," a government official told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. "Under the agreement, visitors frWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times