SEOUL, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean government on Wednesday rejected a proposal of changing construction plans on a new U.S. military base in the country.

　　According to local media, the change of plans, proposed by the Defense Ministry's U.S. Base Relocation Office, could have helped save up to 100 billion won (100 million U.S. dollars) in a currently evaluated 550-billion won (550 million U.S. dollars) construction project to raise the ground level at the site of the new U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, 40 km south of Seoul.

　　However, a government review committee grouped with 13 members, including 10 professors, two government experts and one civilian engineer, dismissed the proposal as they concluded that such last-minute changes to the construction plan could delay its completion at least by a few months, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

　　"The committee acknowledged the reasons cited by the U.S. base relocation office to consider changing the procurement process were duly understandable, but decided to maintain the existing procurement system, noting the importance of maintaining policy coherence," said a spokesman for the Defense Ministry.

　　Seoul and Washington agreed in 2004 to relocate U.S. troops in Seoul and frontline bases to the city of Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, by 2012. The entire project is estimated to cost about 10 trillion won, or some 10 billion U.S. dollars.

　　About 28,500 U.S. service members are currently stationed in South Korea.