Ruling, opposition clash over Hormuz deployment, academy merger

The ruling and opposition parties clashed fiercely Thursday during National Assembly questioning on diplomacy, unification and security, sparring over foreign policy issues such as a possible troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz and President Lee Jae Myung's defense policy, including a plan to merge the Army, Navy and Air Force academies. The Democratic Party of Korea reiterated that South Korea should proceed cautiously on any Hormuz deployment, arguing that the Lee administration is pursuing a pragmatic, rational foreign policy that corrects the previous administration's missteps. The People Power Party countered that merging the military academies would create an "osteoporosis military," setting off a heated exchange.

The ruling party reiterated its position that South Korea should approach the recent US request for a Hormuz deployment with caution.

Democratic Party Rep. Lee Kwang-jae, questioning Vice Foreign Minister Park Yun-joo, said, "What is the biggest difference between the 2003 Iraq deployment and the current Hormuz request? Isn't it that the international community as a whole has not reached a consensus?" He added, "I believe we must be very cautious." He said coordinating with the international community on the Hormuz issue would be an important strategy, and that the deployment "can happen only with the consent of the National Assembly and the public."

Democratic Party Rep. Lee Ki-heon said, "Being an ally does not mean joining an unjustified war," and added that he disagreed with assessments by some PPP lawmakers that the South Korea-US relationship is deteriorating because Seoul has not responded to the deployment request. "Deployment is deployment, and negotiations are negotiations," he said. "No matter how great the benefit, nothing is more important than the lives of our people."

The PPP criticized the ruling party and government for rushing to merge the three military academies, citing President Lee's remark that Korea Military Academy graduates took part in military-backed coups three times.

Rep. Yoo Yong-won, a former military affairs reporter, criticized the plan, saying the government was "forcibly pushing through a system to produce officers who are like wild ducks — capable of doing a little of everything but excelling at nothing — under the political logic that merging the academies would reduce the risk of a coup." He added, "The military is turning into an osteoporosis military, rotting on the inside."

Yoo also claimed that last month he visited a frontline unit to check on North Korean military movements and South Korea's alert posture, and found that North Korean forces had built tactical roads, minefields and electrified fences near the Military Demarcation Line under the pretext of fortifying the border.

He said, "At just one division's alert zone that I visited, I confirmed that North Korean forces had crossed the MDL by 10 to 15 meters at as many as six locations, including minefields they had laid, infringing on our sovereignty."

In response, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said, "Our military has identified some changes in the terrain and is closely consulting with the UN Command on the possibility that mines have been laid."

PPP Rep. Kang Sun-young, a former Army major general, also took issue with the academy merger. Kang said, "Pushing this through so hastily is not about strengthening jointness, as claimed — it is about carrying out the president's absurd rationale of rooting out coup forces."

Kang also clashed with Democratic Party lawmakers while questioning Prime Minister Han Seong-sook about who South Korea's main enemy is. When Democratic Party members protested, she shot back, "If you do not know, stay quiet. Most Democratic Party members — including the president, the prime minister, the defense minister, Cabinet members and past and current party leaders — have never served in the military and are ignorant about defense. That is simply ignorance."

The ruling and opposition parties, who had clashed Wednesday during political-affairs questioning, again offered starkly opposing assessments Thursday of the Lee Jae Myung administration's diplomatic and security policy, remaining locked in a tense standoff.

Three-term PPP Rep. Kim Seok-gi raised his voice, saying, "When he was in the opposition, President Lee Jae Myung inflamed public fear over Japan's discharge of treated Fukushima wastewater, calling it 'like pouring poison into a well.' Does the poison turn into clean seawater just because the administration changed?"

He continued, saying, "Why should we get involved in the Taiwan Strait issue? President Lee said all we need to do is say 'xie xie' to China and 'xie xie' to Taiwan. Is this something that can be solved by saying 'xie xie'? The president's remarks show diplomatic ignorance."

Democratic Party lawmakers seated in the chamber shouted in protest, but Kim pressed on, bringing up the controversy over Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and President Lee's criminal trial.

Kim said, "Foreign politicians have asked me whether it is true that the president nominated as justice minister someone who has openly argued for scrapping the president's trial. Isn't that an embarrassment for the country?" He added sarcastically, "These days, students ask their teachers, 'I want to become president too — does that mean I need to be good at lying and face around five trials on 12 criminal charges?'"

The ruling party, meanwhile, argued that the Lee administration is successfully pursuing a pragmatic, rational diplomatic and security policy, and put the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration's missteps under scrutiny.

Democratic Party Rep. Kim Byung-joo, who appeared in hanbok, said, "The Lee Jae Myung administration is expanding our economic and diplomatic reach through pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interest." He added, "How can that be compared to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which completely wrecked our diplomacy with the Dec. 3 insurrection?"

He also pushed back on criticism, saying, "PPP lawmakers have voiced a lot of concern, but the South Korea-US alliance is stronger than ever. A process of coordinating differences is what makes for a healthy alliance."

Democratic Party Rep. Park Sun-won criticized PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik for raising the issue of redeploying tactical nuclear weapons in his party's floor speech Tuesday at the regular parliamentary session, saying, "He laid out truly foolish conditions that would invite nuclear war."

Park said, "When former President Yoon Suk Yeol got worked up and went to Washington asking for tactical nuclear weapons and nuclear-sharing, he thought the US would grant everything — but what was the actual response?" He added, "He was humiliated when told not to even dream of nuclear-sharing, and the South Korea-US alliance was shaken as a result."