People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun sharply criticized Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul on Wednesday, saying "what a defense minister needs is not rhetorical skill but a firm security outlook and cool-headed judgment," and that "national security must not be treated as a subject for verbal sparring, nor should public concerns over the transfer of wartime operational control be taken lightly."

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Yoon said Kang had responded to an opposition lawmaker's call for caution on the OPCON transfer during a National Assembly national audit of the Defense Ministry by asking, "If a war breaks out with North Korea, can we trust such US forces?" Yoon called the remark "utterly absurd," saying it was inconceivable that the defense minister responsible for the South Korea-US alliance would turn around and question whether American troops could be trusted.

"Minister Kang has consistently emphasized the importance of trust between South Korea and the United States in the context of the OPCON transfer," Yoon said. "Yet when it came to the National Assembly, Kang made a statement that could cast doubt on that very alliance trust. What tune are we supposed to be dancing to?"

Yoon noted that after the remarks drew controversy, the Defense Ministry explained that Kang had been posing a rhetorical counter-question to the opposition lawmaker's argument. "But regardless of intent, these are words a defense minister — who bears responsibility for alliance trust — should never utter carelessly," Yoon said.

Yoon added that the OPCON transfer must meet strict military conditions, including the capability to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, the South Korean military's ability to command combined operations, and the framework for intelligence sharing and force support between the two allies. "Trust cannot substitute for military conditions," Yoon said. "The OPCON transfer must be judged on actual military capability, not political will."

"Should a defense minister not answer with whether the transfer conditions have been met and whether readiness is thorough, rather than engaging in political sparring?" Yoon said. "The South Korea-US alliance is the cornerstone of this country's security, built on the sacrifice of countless service members. The OPCON transfer must also proceed in a way that further strengthens the combined defense posture."

Yoon said the public could not be reassured when a defense minister who had stressed alliance trust was "needlessly stirring controversy" on his own. Yoon called on Kang to apologize to the public for the "reckless remarks" and to clearly explain how the military conditions for the OPCON transfer and the combined defense framework would be upheld.


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