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As detailed discussions between Korea and the U.S. begin over Yongsan's Camp Coiner being used as the site to rebuild the U.S. Embassy, it is very likely that about 20,000 pyong will be provided at the site for construction.
A high-ranking government official said, "The search for a site to replace the one within the old Deoksu Palace, conducted because of opinion that building the embassy there would be impossible, resulted in the old embassy staff housing site at Songhyeon-dong being seriously considered... But because there is a height restriction placed on construction in the area, it would be impossible to build more than four stories above ground and one story below, so that site, too, has been virtually nixed."
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Camp Coiner, a part of the Yongsan Garrison, as seen from above.
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The official explained, "Considering this point, we proposed Camp Coiner, which is located within the Yongsan Garrison. The Americans, however, raised some fairness issues, saying it was too far from Cheong Wa Dae and the government complex and pointing out that among the four great powers that surround Korea, it would be the only one with its embassy located outside the old four gates of Seoul... It appears the Americans are almost ready to accept the new site, however, because of sufficient explanation and persuasion conducted by the Korean government."
About the new site, the official said, "If one puts together the Doksu Palace site owned by the U.S. and nearby site designated for embassy staff housing, it would come out to about 9,800 pyong. [The Camp Coiner site] is much larger than that, but if falls well short of 30,000 pyong."
In particular, he said, "In order to prepare for the possibility of a terrorist attack, the Americans are asking for enough space to build a building 30m wide and 30 meters deep... If we are to satisfy these demands, realistically speaking, there is only Camp Coiner."
The official added, "In that the transfer of the Yongsan Garrison should be completed by 2007, even if Yongsan is chosen as the site of the U.S. Embassy, when we consider the time it will take to come up with concrete agreements and blueprints, construction should begin six or seven years from now."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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