Bill submitted for parliamentary audit of CFC

An opposition lawmaker said Monday he has proposed a bill to the National Assembly aiming to have the Korea-US Combined Forces Command undergo parliamentary audit, criticizing the bilateral organization for failing to share critical information with the legislative body in Seoul.

Rep. Kim Joong-ro of the People’s Party said the legislative proposal was submitted on Friday to mandate the CFC commander -- assumed by a US four-star general -- testify before South Korean legislators about security assessment and use of budget.

While the CFC commander shares classified intelligence via US chain-of-command and reports to US Pacific Command, Department of Defense and the Congress, it is currently not obligated to do so with the South Korean National Assembly, the lawmaker claimed. 

“It’s urgent for us to come up with adequate measures to monitor the activities of Korea-US Combined Forces Command where South Korean people and money were devoted,” said Kim. “We can prevent possible wrongdoings and arbitrary measures in advance,” he said.

CFC is a principal wartime command designed to fend off North Korea in the event of all-out war on the Korean Peninsula. Although its chief of staff and other components consist of a bilateral Korea-US team, the US four-star generals have assumed the commandership since its inception in 1978.

Outside of overseeing Korea-US combined forces, the CFC commanders have also other roles to play; they serve as a top commander of about 28,500 United States Forces stationed in South Korea and multilateral United Nations Command designed to maintain armistice on the Korean Peninsula.

In 2014, a bilateral panel of lawmakers proposed a similar motion to mandate the CFC commander undergo parliamentary audit and testify before the lawmakers. The motion, however, failed to clear legislative hurdles last year.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)