A group representing nongovernmental organizations held a rally Friday in front of the U.S. Eighth Army compound in central Seoul to protest against the revision of the agreement which governs the legal status of American servicemen stationed here.

The activists who were picketing in front of the main Yongsan Base said..."the revision made some improvements but still falls short of guaranteeing Korean-U.S. relations based on an equal partnership."

They said...we call for an overhaul of the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) and revision of the Korea-U.S. mutual defense agreement which is the basis of the SOFA."

The NGOs, pushing for SOFA revision and an end to crimes committed by American soldiers here, claimed, "the revision has lots of aggravated clauses."