[iNews24 Reporter Moon Jang-won] President Lee Jae-myung asked on April 28, “Our defense industry has climbed to fourth in the world in exports alone. So why do people act as if we couldn’t defend ourselves without foreign troops?”
Presiding over the Cabinet meeting and emergency economic-monitoring session at the Blue House, he said that recently some people have expressed unease about military and security matters for various reasons.
“What’s clear,” he said, “is that, excluding U.S. Forces stationed here, South Korea’s military ranks around fifth in the world. Our annual defense budget is about 1.4 times larger than North Korea’s annual GDP.”
He added, “Our training is solid, morale is high, and our economy is incomparably stronger. Our defense industry has surged to fourth in the world by exports alone.”
The president urged officials to share these objective facts with the public. “I repeat this because a nation must defend itself—why rely on others? We can do it,” he said.
He added that leaders should do what they can to prevent even a sliver of that anxiety from taking hold. “We must act with confidence and take responsibility ourselves,” he said.
His remarks appeared to rebut opposition lawmakers who argue the government's plan to transfer wartime operational control (OPCON) is premature.
U.S. Forces Korea commander Javier Brunson testified before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on April 21, warning that political expediency should not precede the conditions required for transfer. The opposition People Power Party criticized his comments, saying they amounted to a strong warning against pushing for an early handover.
Responding to the president’s remarks, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek said some groups are stirring and amplifying that sentiment, but most citizens do not share the concern. “From privates to generals, our forces are brimming with confidence,” he said.
When the president asked whether South Korea should be fully prepared to defend itself, conduct operations, and develop strategic operational plans independently, Minister Ahn replied that the country already possesses the tangible and intangible assets and the strategic systems needed to potentially accelerate the restoration of operational control (OPCON).
