Na Kyung-won: “Is this the Tang dynasty’s army?” vs. Kang Shin-chul: “Take that back!”—heated exchange at Budget Committee

[Financial News] Na Kyung-won, a People Power Party lawmaker, and Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-chul clashed at the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts over remarks about “trust in the U.S. military” and the phrase “Tang dynasty’s army.”
According to Yonhap News Agency on the 11th, Minister Kang explained that day, regarding his earlier remark asking whether the U.S. military could be trusted if war broke out with North Korea, “That happened because the media distorted it.”
Previously, at a parliamentary audit last month, an opposition lawmaker pointed out that “even the world’s strongest nation, the United States, is struggling in its war with Iran.” Kang responded, “Then, if war breaks out with North Korea, can we trust that kind of U.S. military?”
When Na asked Kang, “Did you say that the U.S. military could be trusted?”, he replied, “It was a question in response to the query, and no one raised any objection to my remarks at the time.”
The two also clashed over the postponement of the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM). Na said the public was anxious because the SCM, usually held around November each year, had been postponed to early next year for the first time in 28 years. Kang countered, “It was a scheduling matter and has absolutely nothing to do with the timeline for the transfer of wartime operational control,” adding, “People are anxious because this is being distorted that way.”
Na raised her voice, saying, “Distorted? What do you mean, distorted?” and the exchange escalated into a dispute between the two sides.
The dispute then turned to the investigation of soldiers by the Security Investigation Unit of the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters in connection with the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis.
When Na rebuked Minister Kang, who had said he would look into the situation, saying, “Is this the Tang dynasty’s army? If you investigate soldiers like this after they’ve been ordered to deploy, then even if martial law is declared when it’s truly needed, the soldiers won’t move,” Kang retorted, “It is not your place, as a committee member, to publicly call the Republic of Korea Armed Forces the Tang dynasty’s army. Please retract your remarks. We are not the Tang dynasty’s army.” Voices were raised again during the exchange.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter