Photo By Rachel Napolitan | Col. Kim, You-Hwan, U.S. Forces Korea Program Division Chief, Republic of Korea...... read more read more
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – The Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense – Defense Installations Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Far East District held their first joint symposium of 2026 on June 1 at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. This continues a series of workshops launched in 2025 to foster a better understanding of execution processes and regulations for both FED and MND-DIA.
“The work we do together is critical to supporting U.S. Forces Korea, our installations, and the broader Alliance. These workshops give us an opportunity to better understand each other’s processes, identify friction points and continue to improve how we deliver projects together,” said David Chai, deputy district engineer and chief of Programs and Project Management Division (DPM), USACE FED.
The agencies partner on host-nation funded projects in Korea, with FED completing the design work and providing construction oversight while MND DIA executes the construction contract.
Col. Kim, You-Hwan, USFK Program Division Chief, MND DIA, encouraged discussion from both agencies to continue moving forward, sharing that the continuation of the events means that they have the same objective of improving program execution.
“We have been great together and will continue to be great together,” he said. He continued by sharing that he sees FED and MND DIA beyond the motto Katchi Kapshida (“We Go Together”) and truly sees the agencies as one team.
The symposium kicked off with mutual recognitions of staff, highlighting the shared commitment to the execution of USFK’s construction program. MND DIA also highlighted the outcomes from the symposiums in 2025, which included discussions on safety, quality assurance procedures, local materials usage, and schedule management procedures.
The agenda of this iteration of the workshops focused on construction change processes. FED presented how the district executes contract modifications and time impact analysis, and MND DIA closed presentations by highlighting their own processes. The shared overviews allowed both agencies to learn from each other’s methods.
“These are areas where shared understanding is essential,” Chai said. “The more we understand each other’s requirements and decision points, the better we can prevent delays, reduce misunderstandings, and improve project execution.
During the symposium, the agencies also learned about funding approval processes from USFK Engineers (FKEN).
The event concluded with time for discussions, allowing staff to explore processes explained throughout the day. This helped both teams better understand the similarities and differences, and how those factors influence joint projects.
“There’s opportunities in ROK Funded Construction to improve our processes,” Chai said. “Today is a springboard for the discussions and to move forward.”
Both agencies plan to continue this format of discussion throughout the year to build collaboration and improve delivery of infrastructure for USFK.
The Republic of Korea Funded Construction (ROKFC) program is funded through the Special Measures Agreement between the U.S. Department of State and the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. USFK determines projects to be funded by the program which FED executes as the design and construction agent (DCA) in partnership with MND DIA.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2026 21:12 |
| Story ID: | 566634 |
| Location: | CAMP HUMPHREYS, KR |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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