This article was originally posted on Jayu Press and translated by OKN Correspondent.
Regarding President Moon Jae-in’s opposition to the relocation of President-elect Yoon Seok-youl’s office due to a possible security vacuum, retired high-ranking reserve generals who served in the Joint Chiefs of Staff have voiced that the Moon Jae-in administration was not qualified to even mention the word “security vacuum.”
This conflicts with the previous statement made by eleven retired generals who served in the Joint Chiefs of Staff that they are against the relocation of the presidential office to the Defense Ministry compound.
In a statement made on March 19, [these eleven retired generals] said, “The presidential office is a symbol of the national command and the last bastion for national security. The relocation is a matter of great importance to the nation, so it should not be rushed.” They also added, “As the Constitution and laws stipulate that the President will command the Korean military, we hope that the military and public sentiment will not be shaken due to this relocation,” suggesting that they’re against the relocation of the presidential office.
However, on March 23, 64 reserve generals of the ROK Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, including former Defense Minister Lee Sang-hoon, presented the statement from 1,000 reserve generals that served in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They explained, “This statement was signed on the 19th by former reserve generals of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a show of patriotism suggested by national security experts that the new government should correct the security situation made by President Moon Jae and the ruling party over the past five years.”
They stated, “However, the Moon Jae-in administration and the ruling party have distorted this situation for their political gains by opposing the relocation of the presidential office to divide the people and we want to sternly warn them to immediately suspend such activities and if they continue to do so, we will take strong action,” and stressed that they are not opposing the relocation of the presidential office as made previously [by the eleven retired generals].
They criticized [the Moon administration], “The current government, which has consistently neglected to respond to North Korea’s repeated missile launches and other provocations, reduced and/or abolished joint military drills with the United States, and turned a blind eye to the murder of a civil servant by North Korean forces, is not qualified to mention any cause for security vacuum.”
They continued, “The Joint Chiefs of Staff, who oversee military readiness, will continue to carry out their duties in their current location even if the presidential office is relocated to the Defense Ministry compound,” adding, “We will maintain the command-and-control system and prepare for operational readiness.”
They also added, “We will actively cooperate and participate in the relocation of President-elect Yoon Seok-youl’s office to Yongsan so that it doesn’t affect the national security posture.”
To read the original article in Korean, please click here.
