PPP leader says Lee Jae Myung 'incapable' of safeguarding security

Kang Shin-cheol vows to serve 'without losing initial resolve'

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok (right) shakes hands with Defense Minister Kang Shin-cheol at the National Assembly on Monday, as Kang paid a courtesy call following his appointment. [Yonhap]
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok (right) shakes hands with Defense Minister Kang Shin-cheol at the National Assembly on Monday, as Kang paid a courtesy call following his appointment. [Yonhap]

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok met with Defense Minister Kang Shin-cheol on Monday and urged him to "return to the mindset you had when you entered the military academy — the resolve to protect the people — at a time when South Korea's security faces a crisis with no clear path forward."

Jang received Kang at the National Assembly that morning and said security must come first. "Security is a matter of national survival. It is a matter of public safety, and without security, a state cannot exist," he said.

He added that "only a solid security foundation can serve as the cornerstone of national defense," while warning that "many citizens are worried about where South Korea is headed."

Turning to the question of merging the military academies, Jang said a mishandled consolidation "would inflict irreparable pain and anger on sunbae officers who graduated from the Korea Military Academy, on junior officers, and on cadets who are studying and training there to defend South Korea." He said the nation's security and the safety of its people rest on the minister's shoulders.

Jang criticized the Lee Jae Myung administration's management of security as inadequate and said the minister bears heavy responsibility. "I believe President Lee Jae Myung finds it difficult to take responsibility for South Korea's security himself," he said. "Based on what has been shown so far, I think the public has already made its judgment. The only person the people can place their last hope in now is the defense minister."

Jang also argued that standing up to the president may at times be necessary on security matters. "Even if it means clashing with the president — even if that clash costs you your position — the time has come to answer to the South Korean people who have supported Minister Kang all along," he said, pressing Kang to act.

On the DMZ landmine incident, Jang said he hoped the minister would handle the matter with the same feeling as "a soldier who has lost a beloved comrade to an enemy-planted mine in wartime."

"The Lee Jae Myung administration has done nothing but disappoint the public on defense and security," Jang said. "The last chance to protect South Korea in this crisis rests on Minister Kang's shoulders."

He went on to say that "the minister must remember that the people sincerely want the defense minister to act as a minister, not a politician." Jang asked Kang to safeguard defense and security so that "the honor you earned throughout your military career does not go to waste and does not vanish in an instant."

Kang responded by pledging to "carry out my duties as minister without losing my initial resolve." He said he could "tell the people clearly that, as minister, together with our government, I will build a South Korean military that is merciless toward enemies, loved by the people, and victorious."

After the meeting, reporters asked Kang about allegations that North Korea planted the landmines involved in the DMZ incident. "If it is conclusively confirmed that the mines were planted by North Korea, an appropriate and proportionate response will be necessary, and that is what we will pursue," he said.

On reports of sightings of North Korean wooden-box mines, Kang said "there are also accounts that do not identify them as wooden-box mines," adding that "there are aspects that are difficult to pin down." He said an on-site investigation was under way Monday and that he would "explain the situation to the public as transparently as possible as soon as it is sorted out."


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