President Lee vows to press ahead with Opcon transfer bid in Armed Forces Day speech

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed on Wednesday to press ahead with his administration's plans to assume wartime operational control (Opcon) over the country's military from the United States.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, center, pledges allegiance to the country's flag during a ceremony to mark the 77th Armed Forces Day in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, on Oct. 1. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed on Wednesday to press ahead with his administration's plans to assume wartime operational control (Opcon) over the country's military from the United States, declaring that the era of dependence on foreign security guarantees must give way to a “self-reliant defense” rooted in national sovereignty.

Speaking at Gyeryongdae, the joint headquarters of South Korea’s Army, Navy and Air Force in South Chungcheong, Lee used the occasion of the 77th Armed Forces Day to pledge that Seoul would reclaim wartime command authority — a transfer long delayed despite years of negotiations between Seoul and Washington.

“The Republic of Korea will lead a joint defense posture with Washington by regaining operational control grounded in a firm alliance between our two nations,” Lee said in a speech before thousands of troops, referring to South Korea by its official name. “Only by strengthening our own power can we secure peace and prosperity for the Republic of Korea.”

The pledge touches one of the most sensitive issues in Seoul’s alliance with Washington. Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, the United States has maintained operational command over South Korean troops during wartime.

Critics in Seoul, particularly within Lee’s liberal Democratic Party, have long viewed the U.S. control over South Korea’s military in wartime as incompatible with full national sovereignty.

Successive South Korean administrations have pressed for an Opcon transfer in talks with the United States, but the issue has been repeatedly deferred amid questions about South Korea’s readiness, concerns over North Korea’s nuclear threat and political turnover between liberal and conservative administrations.

The Black Eagles, the South Korean Air Force's official aerobatic flight demonstration team, perform a flyover in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, on Oct. 1. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Lee, who assumed office in June, framed a potential Opcon transfer as the natural next step toward a more equal alliance between Seoul and Washington. He pointed to South Korea’s booming defense industry and its position as home to the world’s fifth-largest military as proof that the country could shoulder greater responsibility.

“There is no reason to doubt our national defense power and even less reason to feel anxious,” he said, citing record defense spending and the country’s ability to export tanks, fighter jets and submarines.

Recent South Korean administrations have thrown their backing behind the country’s defense industry, seeing it as another engine of economic growth.

Lee also struck a careful balance between touting Seoul’s maturation as an independent military power and expressing gratitude to the United States Forces Korea and the United Nations Command, whom he credited with “standing with us to preserve peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

South Korean Army officers take part in a taekwondo demonstration during a ceremony to mark the 77th Armed Forces Day in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, on Oct. 1. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Lee’s speech, however, also referenced the political upheaval in Seoul. He denounced elements of the military that “turned their guns on the people” during the short-lived imposition of martial law in December last year by his predecessor, former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

He promised reforms to ensure the armed forces remain firmly under civilian control.

“An army meant to protect the people must never point its guns at them,” he said. “As commander in chief, I will rid the military of the elements that were involved in illegally imposing martial law and rebuild it into a force that protects the Constitution and the people.”

In a shift from the Yoon administration, which staged a large military parade involving 5,000 troops in downtown Seoul to mark Armed Forces Day last year, the Defense Ministry this year organized a much-reduced iteration at Gyeryongdae that involved only 998 troops.

Lee further outlined three priorities for what he called a “strong, self-reliant defense,” including modernizing the country’s defense capabilities with advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and drones, expanding South Korea’s defense industry as a pillar of economic growth, and improving conditions for rank-and-file soldiers, including better pay and care for the injured.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reviews troops during a ceremony to mark the 77th Armed Forces Day in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, on Oct. 1. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

While the president’s vow to pursue the long-stalled transfer of wartime command is likely to resonate with voters who see it as a matter of dignity, it may also raise anxieties at home and abroad.

Analysts say Washington is likely to support the shift in principle but will insist on safeguards to ensure combined deterrence against Pyongyang is not weakened.

Still, Lee cast the move as essential for South Korea’s future. “Without peace, the development of democracy and economic growth are impossible delusions,” he said. “When our military becomes truly of the people and by the people, it will carry even greater strength.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]