Blue House reprimanding Defense Ministry over THAAD report omissions

Posted on : 2017-06-06 13:36 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Ministry trying to explain away omissions, saying they were part of behind-the-scenes agreement with the US military
Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations Yoon Young-chan provides a briefing on the results of a Blue House investigation on the Ministry of National Defense’s omission of a report on the delivery of THAAD launchers
Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations Yoon Young-chan provides a briefing on the results of a Blue House investigation on the Ministry of National Defense’s omission of a report on the delivery of THAAD launchers

The Blue House’s reprimand on June 5 over the omission of a report on four additional THAAD launchers is more broadly a form of disciplinary action for going ahead with the system’s deployment without establishing its procedural legitimacy.

The explanation given to the Blue House by the Ministry of National Defense’s policy office chief, Army Lt. Gen. Wi Seung-ho, can be summarized in three points: South Korea had reached a behind-the-scenes agreement with the US military on the delivery of additional equipment, similar information had not been included on reports in the past, and attempts were made to give a verbal explanation.

In terms of the first of these, behind-the-scenes agreements with the US military have been the rule rather than the exception for the Ministry of National Defense. Apart from when two THAAD launchers were delivered on Mar. 6, the ministry has not given any official confirmations on additional deliveries of THAAD components.

But the Blue House maintained that while the approach of reaching behind-the-scenes agreements with the US could be seen as a response to the media, it was a separate issue from reports to the supreme commander of the armed forces.

The Blue House was similarly unmoved by the other two points in Wi’s explanation.

“The ministry gave a full report on the delivery of six THAAD launchers to the National Security Office and Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn under the previous administration, so it is not clear why they would have omitted [the information from reports] after Moon Jae-in was elected President,” said a senior Blue House source.

The question is why reports that were made during the Park administration were omitted after Moon took office. The Blue House is now asking whether this was part of an attempt to deceive the new administration.

The Blue House was also skeptical of Wi’s claims about initial attempts to give a verbal report of the situation. Military authorities are well known to prefer verbal reporting when National Assembly members or others ask for military-related reports due to fears of leaking details related to military security. But unlike the National Assembly, the Blue House is located directly above the Ministry of National Defense in the chain of command, which has raised questions about whether it makes sense to report to the military’s commanding organization as if it were the National Assembly. For whatever reason, Wi also failed to give even a verbal report on the additional delivery of four launchers.

“I still can’t fathom what the intentions were in deliberately trying to omit a report,” said a senior Blue House source.

“But there were statements [during the investigation] to the effect that it was meant to handle things quickly because residents would object once it became apparent [the THAAD delivery was taking place],” the source added.

 June 5. (Blue House photo pool)
June 5. (Blue House photo pool)

Given the Blue House’s attitude, disciplinary action over the omission could likely go beyond ousting Wi, who oversaw practical duties in connection with the report. With Moon ordering an additional investigation, new findings could result in others being subject to punishment. The additional investigation also looks likely to enter full swing once a new Minister of National Defense is appointed.

“Instead of having the Blue House Office of the Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs doing additional investigating, we’ll have the agencies in question doing their own investigating, or ask the Board of Audit and Inspection to do an inspection of duties if the agencies require it,” explained Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations Yoon Young-chan.

A key Blue House official said there would be an “intensive investigation of the Ministry of National Defense once a new minister is named.”

Depending on how the investigation unfolds, disciplinary action appears likely to go farther up the line from Wi.

“Based on what witnesses have said and the initial report last year, we’ve concluded that they deliberately sidestepped an environmental impact assessment,” said another senior Blue House source.

“We’re going to need to investigate further to find out who’s responsible,” the source said, hinting that the punishments could go up the line over the assessment issue.

Meanwhile, Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo told reporters while leaving work on June 5 that the ministry and military “will definitely implement the President’s supreme guidelines as supreme commander of the armed forces.”

“In terms of the environmental impact assessment, the Ministry of National Defense will examine plans to satisfy the directive to bolster the procedural legitimacy,” Han added.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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