Defense Minister Ahn: Reform Faces 'Desperate Resistance' from Vested Interests, Personal Attacks

Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyu-baek stated on the 1st at a meeting of major commanders across the military that the process of pushing for defense reforms to recover wartime operational control (OPCON transfer) is facing resistance from vested interests, and even personal attacks against the minister. At the meeting, Minister Ahn emphasized the importance of regaining OPCON, saying, "A military that cannot make its own decisions cannot become a strong military." He explained that this is the path to making South Korea stronger and advancing the ROK-U.S. alliance.

Minister Ahn urged full effort to complete the verification of Full Operational Capability (FOC) at the ROK-U.S. Annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in October this year, and to report the target date for OPCON recovery. He also added that the appointment of a South Korean Army General as the commander of the Future Combined Forces Command signifies that South Korea will possess the authority to decide on war.

Beyond OPCON recovery, Minister Ahn identified reforms in the education of military academies and the restructuring of counterintelligence and intelligence agencies as three defense reform tasks that must be completed. He pointed out that reforms are more difficult than revolutions because they involve the desperate resistance of vested interests and ingrained preconceptions.