[News Focus] THAAD fiasco spurs call for military overhaul

Since South Korea and the United States announced in February last year that they had kicked off negotiations to station a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery here, the whole process has been shrouded in secrecy.

The deployment of THAAD components -- two launchers arrived at Osan Air Base in March -- began at midnight and went public a day later. Despite a series of reports that there were four additional launchers placed somewhere to complete a THAAD battery, the allies had not verified it for security reasons.

Now the whole process is under scrutiny, as the Defense Ministry was found not to have reported the existence of four launchers to its new commander in chief -- President Moon Jae-in who during his presidential campaign vowed to review the THAAD decision-making.

“The president was shocked because the Defense Ministry deliberately failed to report to him about the deployment that has proceeded without the knowledge of the people, despite its significant impact on the people and country,” Yoon Young-chan, presidential press secretary, said in a briefing Wednesday.

Topping the agenda of a military overhaul is a massive reshuffle of its leadership, which was said to have voiced opposition to President Moon Jae-in’s push to enhance civilian oversight over the decision-making process for the national security.

The president filled out high-profile seats at Cheong Wa Dae’s national security office with political scholars and former diplomats, not retired four-star generals who dominated the office when former President Park Geun-hye was in power.

Among those generals are former security Chief Kim Kwan-jin, predecessor to Defense Minister Han Min-koo, who is under investigation for omitting information about four THAAD launchers. Kim and Han were considered to be among the few who had long acknowledged the existence of the launchers.

“It is like the typical mindset among public officials during the transition period of governments,” said Yang-uk, senior research fellow at the Korea Security and Defense Forum. “They just wanted to avoid sensitive issues. It’s obvious what would happen to them.”

The revolving door between the Army and the defense ministry is expected to be another subject for military overhaul. Over the past decades, Army generals have dominated top military positions, including defense minister and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

During the previous Roh Moo-hyun government, the Army protested the government’s push to streamline the military organization out of concern that the move would reduce the number of Army generals.

Another issue is eradicating irregularities surrounding military acquisition. On his campaign trail, President Moon vowed to investigate collusion scandals during the previous governments and treat those found guilty with punishment equivalent to “treason.”

Cheong Wa Dae has also announced its own plan. Chung Eui-yong, chief of the National Security Office, pledged to establish a special task force aimed to overhaul procurement policy and investigate dubious contracts during the past governments.

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