Generals are concerned about leftist attacks on UN Command
South Korea’s top military commanders who held key positions during the Moon Jae-in administration recently joined the presidential campaign of Yoon Seok-youl from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). They conducted a joint interview with a local media outlet on Monday for the first time, saying that the Moon administration’s presidential Blue House tried to weaken the United Nations Command’s ability to perform its duties on the Korean Peninsula.
Five generals who joined Yoon’s election team include Choi Byung-hyuk, deputy commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, three Chief of Staff representing Army, Navy, and Air Force, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. This is the first time that such a large number of top recently-retired generals participated in a joint interview criticizing the administration that appointed them to key positions. They agreed that the Blue House considers the UN Command as the major obstacle in declaring an end to the Korean War during the interview with the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper on Monday.
Choi, who was the deputy commander of the U.S. Combined Forces Command from April 2019 to September 2020, said that the Blue House showed its uncomfortable feeling toward the UN Command during a meeting in December 2019. He argued that the Blue House officials said that they do not understand the reason for the UN Command trying to expand its mission on the Korean Peninsula. “They tried to weaken the UN Command as they thought the command was interrupting or trying to stop the government’s plan to resume support for the Kaesong Industrial Complex,” Choi said.
Choi continued that the Moon administration also tried to exclude the United States from managing the Joint Security Area (JSA), which is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone where North and South Korean forces stand face-to-face. “Without a single discussion with the UN Command, they tried to have just North and South manage the JSA,” Choi argued. He said he heard this directly from an official from the UN Command.
Choi also mentioned the Moon administration’s decision to open guard posts on the eastern border after its three summits with North Korea. “The Blue House wanted to open up the barbed-wire border on the front line to establish the so-called ‘Peace Road’ to have it help them resume the tourism program of the Mt. Kumkang,” Choi said. “The UN command asked the government to respect their opinion while emphasizing basic safety protocols, but the government rejected the request and caused unnecessary conflict [with the command].”
The ruling party has continued to call for the dissolution of the UN Command. Song Young-gil, current head of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), argued in August 2020 that, “The United Nations Command in Korea should not intervene in inter-Korean relations because it was an illegitimate force with no roots whatsoever.” He made this comment when he was chairman of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. He even argued that the UN Command should be controlled so that it is not able to intervene in inter-Korean relations.
Moon Chung-in, special advisor for unification, diplomacy and national security affairs for President Moon Jae-in since 2017, said in September 2019 that the UN Command is the major obstacle in inter-Korean relations. Im Jong-seok, former Chief of Staff to President Moon, said in May 2020 that the UN Command is going beyond its powers and intervening in inter-Korean relations.
“This kind of thinking did not come from just one or two people,” Choi said. “This was a commonly shared idea in the Blue House.”
North Korea also has long hoped for the dissolution of the UN Command. In October last year, North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Kim Song argued that the United States established the UN Command illegally and that it should not misuse the name of the United Nations when focusing on achieving its vicious political and military goals.
South Korean General Choi also added that the Blue House tried to prematurely transfer U.S. facilities, including the Dragon Hill Hotel near Yongsan, central Seoul, where the U.S. forces headquarters was located before moving to Pyeongtaek. “The hotel was used to host U.S. officials visiting South Korea, but the government just pushed ahead with transferring all those facilities without preparing alternative facilities or a budget to replace them,” Choi said. “I think they had a purpose of showing off their political achievement ahead of the [April 2020] general elections.”
Choi also pointed out the fact that liberal politicians falsely argue that South Korea does not have military sovereignty as the United States has Operational Control (OPCON).
“South Korea does have military sovereignty,” he said. “The U.S. Combined Forces Command in South Korea operates by following commands given by the defense ministries and presidents from both South Korea and the United States. This is similar to a corporation where the two hold a 50-50 ratio of shares.”
He said that OPCON transfer requires a great deal of time to develop key capabilities. “The transfer should come after we achieve all necessary capabilities but this administration tried to transfer in first instead. The U.S. officials from the military also expressed their concerns during private discussions.”
Ahead of a crucial presidential election, the leftist Moon administration appears to have lost the support of its former defense and security officials.
