“Security sequelae will be serious”
Kim Kwan-jin, “Recommendation of the Ministry of National Defense with a bunker”
It was confirmed that 11 reservists, who served as the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered a statement expressing concerns to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol before the Blue House moved to the Yongsan Ministry of Defense new building in Seoul.
Combining the Dong-A Ilbo coverage on the 20th, 11 former JCS chiefs wrote a statement titled ‘I am concerned regarding the security vacuum before the Blue House office’, and on the 19th, Kim Yong-hyeon, former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (reserve lieutenant general), and Yoon-elect Yoon’s presidency It was forwarded to the acquisition committee. Kim Jong-hwan (15th generation) Choi Se-chang Lee Pil-seop Cho Young-gil Lee Nam-shin Kim Jong-hwan (31st) Lee Sang-hee Han Min-koo Jeong Seung-jo Choi Yun-hee Former Chairman Lee Soon-jin and 11 people participated. Choi Se-chang, Cho Young-gil, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Han Min-koo, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively, served as defense ministers under Roh Tae-woo, Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak, and Park Geun-hye respectively.
In their statement, they argued, “The relocation of the Blue House office to the Ministry of National Defense may result in a chain transfer between the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which may lead to a security vacuum during the period of transition of power and a period of security weakness in which North Korea launches missiles one following another and prepares for a nuclear test.” . “If the Ministry of National Defense is used as the office of the Blue House, it will be the best target to hit the enemy at the same time as the South Korean government and the military command,” he said.
In addition, since the relocation of the Blue House is a symbolic measure to overcome the evils of the imperial presidential system, they agreed that the relocation to the Ministry of National Defense would have serious security consequences. Cho Young-gil, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “The relocation of the Blue House, the national command post, should be carefully pursued from the perspective of national security and national interest by gathering experts and public opinion.” Kim Jong-hwan, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, argued that it would be difficult to maintain a ready posture at all times due to the uncomfortable cohabitation of the presidential office, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for a considerable period of time.
Regarding this, an official of the transition committee said, “After talking with some of the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who participated in the statement, it was confirmed that it was only a concern regarding a security vacuum caused by the chain transfer, and not once morest the move (Blue House) itself.”
On the other hand, National Assembly Vice Chairman Jeong Jin-seok said on Facebook that former National Security Director Kim Kwan-jin recommended moving the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense and delivered it to Yoon-elect. Kim said, “There is no underground bunker in the government complex in Seoul or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so the president’s wartime command and emergency evacuation are a problem, but Yongsan Ministry of National Defense has an underground bunker in every building. It seems to be,” he advised. Kim served as Minister of National Defense under the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, respectively.
By Yoon Sang-ho, military reporter ysh1005@donga.com
