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.
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(Yonhap) |
“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)
