PPP: “OPCON transfer is a security gamble tailored to the president’s term; halt the breakneck push”

[Financial News] The People Power Party pushed back on the 16th, saying the government and ruling party were pouring criticism on General Xavier T. Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, for raising the need to review the conditions for transferring wartime operational control (OPCON). “Are you trying to offer up the people’s lives as a sacrifice for the administration’s OPCON-transfer achievement?”
Kim Tae-gyu, the People Power Party’s senior deputy floor spokesperson, said in a statement that day, “Rather than even considering the warning from an allied forces commander who pointed to North Korea’s missile provocations and the changed battlefield environment, they unleashed collective intimidation,” criticizing the response.
General Brunson had earlier said that the conditions for OPCON transfer should be reviewed in light of North Korea’s missile threat and changes in the battlefield environment. The controversy flared after a Defense Ministry spokesperson remarked, “If you keep moving the goalposts, OPCON transfer will never be possible,” and Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Gi-heon also took issue with Brunson’s remarks.
Regarding the Defense Ministry spokesperson’s remarks, Kim said, “The spokesperson of the ministry responsible for national security emotionally interfered in sensitive issues between South Korea and the United States, then hid behind the claim that it was a personal opinion to evade responsibility,” calling it “a disastrous diplomatic and security blunder.”
He also sharply criticized Rep. Lee, saying, “Casting an allied commander who warned of North Korean threats as a force that violates sovereignty is incitement that fans anti-American sentiment to justify a rushed transfer.”
The People Power Party’s position is that OPCON transfer should be decided based on military conditions, not a political timetable.
Kim emphasized, “OPCON transfer is not a political event to be staged within the president’s term. It is a matter of grave national security, to be decided after the two countries jointly assess the South Korean military’s ability to lead combined defense, its capabilities to respond to North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles, and the security environment on the Korean Peninsula.”
He added, “Insisting on the existing criteria even though North Korea’s threats and the battlefield environment have changed is manipulating the security yardstick to fit the administration’s timetable,” and questioned the government’s approach to pursuing the transfer.
Criticizing President Lee Jae-myung’s push to transfer OPCON during his term, he said, “If this means fitting the conditions to the president’s term rather than making the transfer once the conditions are met, it is a security gamble disguised as self-reliant national defense.”
He urged, “President Lee must immediately halt the reckless race to package OPCON transfer as an achievement during his term, and the Democratic Party and the Defense Ministry must apologize for the outrageous remarks that damaged the ROK-U.S. alliance.”
Kim warned, “We will never tolerate a rushed OPCON transfer that entrusts national security to the president’s pursuit of political achievements and the Democratic Party’s anti-American agitation,” adding, “If the administration puts its timetable ahead of the public’s safety, we will certainly hold it accountable for the consequences.”

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter