Moon administration under fire from civic groups over THAAD issue

Posted on : 2017-09-08 16:02 KST Modified on : 2017-09-08 16:02 KST
Seongju residents feel betrayed by hasty deployment of additional missile launchers
000 police are mustered in the early morning hours to drag away the residents and move ahead with the THAAD deployment Sept. 7.
000 police are mustered in the early morning hours to drag away the residents and move ahead with the THAAD deployment Sept. 7.

On Sept. 7, four more THAAD launchers were deployed at a US military base in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province. This completes the deployment of the THAAD battery, 40 days after South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered the remaining four THAAD launchers to be temporarily deployed on July 29, in response to the provocation of North Korea’s launch of the Hwasong-14 ICBM.

During the presidential campaign, Moon raised questions about THAAD’s usefulness in defending the Korean Peninsula, and even after his inauguration, he emphasized “procedural legitimacy” and promised not to ram through the THAAD deployment without the consent of the public. But now the Blue House is under fire for having broken its promise to the people by caving in to pressure from the US.

“The government, in response to the various missile and nuclear tests on the part of North Korea, and in order to safeguard the lives and security of our people from the North’s intensifying threats, has today completed the temporary placement of four additional THAAD launchers in accordance with the agreement with USFK,” South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Sept. 7.”

More than 8
More than 8

On Sept. 6, the Defense Ministry announced its plans to move the four THAAD launchers into the base. In the early morning of Sept. 7, USFK troops transported the four launchers, which had been stored at Osan Air Base, in Gyeonggi Province, over the roads to the base at Seongju. Over 400 locals and members of civic groups who oppose the THAAD deployment blocked the road and tried to prevent the deployment. When the police forcibly dispersed them, dozens were injured and two were detained.

The THAAD deployment “was a difficult but unavoidable choice. It’s extremely regrettable and unfortunate that we could not accommodate the public’s sincere wishes, despite being well aware of them,” said Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon during a meeting aimed at reviewing and coordinating pending matters of state that was held at the main government office in Seoul on the afternoon of Sept. 7.

“We feel even worse about the protesters, including residents of Seongju and Gimcheon, who were injured while the launchers were being moved onto the base. We will heal the region’s wounds and help the region achieve even greater development,” Lee added.

 Daegu correspondent)
Daegu correspondent)

Despite the government’s position, there is growing public criticism about the fact that more than 8,000 police were mustered in the early morning hours to drag away the residents and move ahead with the THAAD deployment following the Defense Ministry’s announcement. Moon had been enraged that briefings had omitted to mention that four more THAAD launchers had been secretly brought into the country and ordered that the omission be investigated, and he had emphasized “procedural legitimacy” while promising to carry out a full-fledged environmental impact assessment of the entire base – and now he seems to have suddenly changed his mind.

The fact that the THAAD deployment was carried out in blitzkrieg fashion while Moon was on a trip to the Russian city of Vladivostok is provoking criticism that he was trying to evade responsibility. The Blue House had said that the people’s government should never push the people aside to achieve its ends, but it was also the Blue House that mobilized the police to push ahead with the deployment. It refuses to comment about the residents who were injured in the process or to make any statement about them.

A demonstrator sits on the roof of a car watching police who are stationed on the road in front of the Soseong Village Hall on Sept. 7.   (Kim Il-woo
A demonstrator sits on the roof of a car watching police who are stationed on the road in front of the Soseong Village Hall on Sept. 7. (Kim Il-woo

“The Moon administration came into being through the wishes of the people, and now it has betrayed the people,” said the six civic groups opposing the THAAD deployment during a press conference in front of the community center in Soseong Village, Chojeon Township, Seongju County, on Sept. 7. “He has torn to shreds his promise to receive the consent of the National Assembly after achieving procedural and democratic legitimacy. Now that the Moon administration has shown itself to be no different from the administration of Park Geun-hye, there is no other path for us to choose. We will continue protesting strongly until the day that THAAD is removed.”

“When his administration was launched, President Moon made three promises – to investigate the THAAD deployment, to raise the issue in the National Assembly and to carry out a strategic environmental impact assessment, but he has broken all of those promises,” said Lee Jeong-mi, head of the Justice Party.

By Kim Il-woo, Daegu correspondent and Lee Jung-ae, staff reporter

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