Na Kyung-won urges Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul to retract 'Tang dynasty army' remark
Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul and Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party clashed at the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Special Committee plenary session on Monday, from explanations over his comments about the U.S. military to demands that she retract her "Tang dynasty army" remark. The dispute traces back to last month's parliamentary audit, when Kang, responding to an opposition lawmaker's claim that "the United States is struggling in its war with Iran," shot back, "So can we trust the U.S. military?" When Na raised the issue at the committee, Kang explained that the comment had been "distorted by the media," adding that it was "a retort to a question, and no one objected at the time."
The two also traded barbs over the postponement of the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM). The SCM, normally held around November each year, has been pushed back to early next year for the first time in 28 years. When Na said the delay was making the public anxious, Kang countered that it was "a scheduling matter with no connection whatsoever to the timeline for transferring wartime operational control," and that "people are anxious because you are distorting it that way." Na shot back, "Distorting? What distortion?"—and the exchange escalated into a heated sparring match.
The clash then turned to the Defense Ministry Investigation Headquarters' security investigation unit's questioning of soldiers related to the December 3 martial law declaration. Telling Kang she wanted to look into the matter, Na said, "Is this the Tang dynasty army? If you investigate soldiers who mobilized on orders like this, the troops won't move when martial law truly needs to be invoked." Kang responded, "It is not your place, Representative, to publicly call the Republic of Korea Armed Forces a Tang dynasty army," and demanded a retraction.
The day's budget committee clash between the defense minister and Na, a lawmaker from the main opposition People Power Party, laid bare the ruling and opposition parties' divide over pressing security issues, including the SCM postponement and the investigation of soldiers involved in the December 3 martial law, as the session proceeded amid raised voices over Kang's demand for a retraction.
