PPP accuses government of 'collective intimidation' of USFK commander over Opcon
The opposition party says the Lee government’s response to a USFK commander’s warning risks damaging the Korea-U.S. alliance.
People Power Party floor leader Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, center, enters a meeting on strategies for the parliamentary audit at the National Assembly in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on Oct. 16. [YONHAP]
YONHAP
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) accused the Lee Jae Myung government on Friday of unleashing “collective intimidation” against the commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) after he raised the need for “new criteria” for transferring wartime operational control (Opcon) to Seoul.
The party called the public rift between Seoul and Washington over the transfer “a disastrous diplomatic and security blunder” and sharply criticized the Ministry of National Defense and the ruling Democratic Party (DP).
USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson had pointed to changes in the conditions surrounding the Opcon transfer and the need for “new criteria" as Seoul is seeking to complete it within President Lee’s term. USFK has warned against a rushed handover, insisting it remain strictly conditions-based.
“Instead of reviewing that warning, the Lee Jae Myung government and the DP unleashed collective intimidation against the commander of allied forces,” Kim Tae-kyu, the PPP’s senior floor spokesperson, said in a commentary.
“The Defense Ministry spokesperson said in an official briefing, ‘If the goalposts keep moving, the Opcon transfer can never happen,’ and then backed away, calling it personal opinion,” Kim said. “DP Rep. Lee Ki-heon attacked the USFK commander, saying, ‘Korea is not an outpost of the United States.’”
“Insisting only on the existing criteria even though North Korea’s threats and the battlefield environment have changed is not guarding the goalposts, but manipulating the gauge of security to fit the administration’s timetable,” Kim added. “Branding an allied commander who warned of North Korean threats as a force infringing on sovereignty is cheap agitation that stokes anti-American sentiment to justify the Lee Jae Myung government’s hasty transfer.”
“The sad reality of our military is that it cannot even make up for a malfunctioning military satellite, leaving holes in its surveillance network,” said Park Choong-kwon, the party's senior spokesperson. “A hasty transfer that puts a political timetable first without meeting security conditions is an act of self-harm that benefits only the enemy.”
“The Lee Jae Myung government should immediately stop its reckless race for speed and first restore trust in the Korea-U.S. alliance and overhaul its defense and security lineup,” he added.
PPP Secretary-General Jung Hee-yong joined the criticism at a party meeting on the National Assembly’s audit of government agencies. “Rushing a hasty transfer of Opcon despite differences between South Korea and the United States, while failing to lodge so much as a proper protest against North Korea’s land mine provocation, will only heighten the public’s security concerns,” Jung said.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
