A US military plan to construct new housing on a base in Seoul angered activists Tuesday who said it showed the United States had no intention of leaving the base as promised.
Civic activists staged a rally near the US embassy decrying the plan to build 1,000 new apartments on the Yongsan US army base as a breach of faith.
"The scheme is outrageous as it shows the US has no intention to return the complex to Seoul at any time," said Kim Jong-Il, head of the association of 35 South Korean civic groups leading the protest.
The media also criticized the US building plan. DongA Ilbo newspaper in an editorial urged the South Korean government to "clearly say 'No' to the Yongsan apartments".
South Korea and the United States have failed to relocate the base out of central Seoul despite an agreement 10 years ago, because of bickering over who will foot the bill.
The US forces in Korea recently notified the defense ministry that they would build new apartments to replace existing facilities in Yongsan which were too "old and substandard".
The embassy protest rally followed a similar anti-US street demonstration outside the Yongsan camp on Monday.
Some 37,000 American troops are stationed in South Korea under a mutual defense treaty to deter any military attacks from communist North Korea -- AFP
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