Delegates from two prominent South Korean non-governmental organizations, Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS) and People’s Action to Reform the SOFA (PAR-SOFA), will be visiting Washington and New York as part of a US tour from September 21-October 1, 2000. They will hold a public media briefing on Tuesday, Sept. 26, from 3:00-5:00 pm at the Institute for Policy Studies, 733 15^th St. NW.

The US-Korean Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, is currently up for review, at a time of dramatic and positive changes in the security situation on the Korean peninsula. Critics of the current SOFA claim that compared to similar relationships with Germany and Japan, South Koreans operate on a much less equal basis. The agreement has become an explosive issue in today’s Korea.

According to KHIS program coordinator Choi Jaehun, “the Korea-US SOFA is a very unjust agreement, and crimes, human rights violations and the destruction of environment by the US military in Korea have broken out. So Korean NGOs and citizens are demanding the revision of the SOFA.”

The Korean delegation to the US is led by Fr. Mun Jinghyun, a Catholic priest who has spearheaded a grassroots campaign in Korea to redefine the US-Korean security relationship. The delegation will meet with partner NGOs, journalists, and representatives of both the US and Korean governments.

For more information contact Andrew Wells-Dang, (202) 543-1094.

Asia Pacific Center for Justice and Peace

110 Maryland Avenue, N.E.  Box 70

Washington, D.C. 20002

Tel: 202-543-1094

Fax: 202-546-5103

E-Mail: apcjp@igc.org

Web: www.apcjp.org