| Pyeongtaek | |
| Native Name: | Korean: 평택시 |
| Translit Lang1: | Korean |
| Settlement Type: | Municipal City |
| Translit Lang1 Type1: | Hangul |
| Translit Lang1 Info1: | Korean: 평택시 |
| Translit Lang1 Type2: | Hanja |
| Translit Lang1 Info2: | Korean: {{linktext|平|澤|市 |
| Translit Lang1 Info3: | Pyeongtaek-si |
| Translit Lang1 Info4: | P'yŏngt'aek-si |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Korea |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Gyeonggi Province (Sudogwon) |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Dialect |
| Population Blank1: | Gyeonggi |
| Area Total Km2: | 452.31 |
| Population As Of: | 2019 Apr |
| Population Total: | 500787 |
| Population Density Km2: | 1107 |
| Parts Type: | Administrative divisions |
| Parts: | 4 eup, 5 myeon, 13 dong |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Emblem of Pyeongtaek |
| Population Demonym: | 평택시민 (Pyeongtaek-simin), Pyeongtaeker |
| Image Blank Emblem: | Pyeongtaek logo.png |
Pyeongtaek (; pronounced as /ko/) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Located in the southwestern part of the province, Pyeongtaek was founded as a union of two districts in 1940, during the Goryeo dynasty. It was elevated to city status in 1986 and is home to a South Korean naval base and a large concentration of United States troops. The South Korean government plans to transform Pyeongtaek city to an international economic hub to coincide with the move of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) to Pyeongtaek. During the Korean War, it was the site of an early battle between U.S. and North Korean forces, the Battle of Pyongtaek. It is the location of Pyeongtaek University.
The South Korean and United States governments came to an agreement to enlarge Camp Humphreys — a U.S. Army installation outside Anjeong-ri, a community in Pyeongtaek — and move the majority of US forces stationed in and north of Seoul to the Camp Humphreys area. Invoking eminent domain, the government obtained the surrounding land for the base expansion. This would result in the community's third displacement from their own land since the Japanese occupation during World War II.[1]
The move originally included the headquarters of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command, which has operational control of South Korean, U.S., and U.N. combined forces during wartime. In March 2007, ROK Minister of Defense Kim Jang-soo and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates agreed to dissolve the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command on April 17, 2012.[2] This would allow ROK forces to have wartime control of its military during a military confrontation with the North. The ROK/US agreement allows USFK to move to one centralized location away from the congestion of Seoul and its surrounding areas. This relocation agreement results in returning two-thirds of the land currently used by the United States Military back to the South Korean government. By 2008, the U.S. military was to have consolidated 41 installations down to 10 due to the relocation agreement. USFK's only jail facility in South Korea is at Camp Humphreys. Osan Air Base is in Songtan, a district in Pyeongtaek City.
The Korean War Monument of the South African Air Force was opened on 29 September 1975 by the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea in memory of the 37 South African Air Force members who served during the Korean War.[3] [4]