A view of a ceremony to open the new headquarters bu8ilding at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, on June 29. (Photos: U.S. Embassy Seoul on Twitter)

Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander of the United Nations Command/ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea, delivers a speech at a ceremony to open the new headquarters bu8ilding at Camp Humphreys.

The United Nations Command and the United States Forces Korea (USFK) were relocated from Yeongsan, Seoul, to Pyeongtaek, Gyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, on June 29. The relocation came about 73 years after U.S forces established the station in Yongsan shortly after Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.
The USFK held a ceremony to open the new headquarters building at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, about 70 km south of Seoul, on June 29. Among those on hand at the event were Minister Song Young-moo of the Ministry of National Defense, Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander of the United Nations Command/ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea, and Lee Sang-chul, first deputy chief of the National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae.
In his commemorative speech, Minister Song said, “Service members of the UNC and the USFK will have to be charged with new responsibilities suiting a new era.” He stressed that the new roles are to not only ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula, but also to play a significant role of keeping the balance as an equilibrator in the Northeast Asia, thus contributing to global peace.
“Peace and prosperity of today are shining on dedicated services and sacrifices of the veterans of the Korean War,” he said.
Gen. Brooks of the UNC and the USFK said the USFK headquarters within the U.S. military complex represented an investment in the long-term presence of the U.S. forces in Korea. His comment may be construed as a hint that the USFK will play a “maneuver corps” or “peace-keeping force” in Northeast Asia down the road in the context of discussing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and establishing a new peace regime.
The new headquarters building of the USFK is named after retired Gen. John William Vessey, Jr., the eighth commander of the USFK and the first commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Gen. Vessey left behind remarkable achievements, including the establishment of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command while serving as the commander of the USFK, a USFK official said. He had been credited with maxing out the effects of joint military operations while serving as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff after leaving Korea.
The U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek is 14,677,000 sq. meters in size, equivalent to five times the size of Youido, Seoul, which represents the largest-ever single U.S base.
About 40 military units perform operations from here, and its military airfield is the busiest outside the United States
Apache helicopters, dozens of CH 47s, and UH-60 “Black Hawk” helicopters belonging to the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division were seen lining up at an apron beside the runway. U.S. military units scattered across the nation are to move to the military base in Pyeongtaek on a gradual basis by 2022 to accommodate 44,000 U.S. service members and their families.
The project cost nearly $10.8 billion to build over 10 years, USFK commander Gen. Vincent Brooks said at the ceremony.
The military base has 513 structures, including 287 buildings for U.S. soldiers, 226 for Korean service members, schools, banks and retailer outlets.
"The Republic of Korea's investment was over 90 percent of the cost, and for that 90 percent, the United States remains with you 100 percent," Gen. Brooks said.