ROK Presidential Candidates Continue to Clash Over THAAD in South Korea
The THAAD controversy has now become a major political issue in the ROK presidential campaign:
Yoon, the statement said, believes the sole battery in Seongju has limited capabilities to defend the Seoul metropolitan region.
“Peace is not a thing which clamors by mouth but shows by doing actions,” the statement said. “We will build peace through power.”
Lee, the Democratic Party candidate, cautioned against deploying an additional THAAD battery, during a presidential debate with Yoon and two other challengers on Thursday.
Lee has described the existing system, deployed under South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s conservative administration, as a harsh “reality,” and on Thursday said he would judge its usage based on future circumstances.
Lee, in a recent campaign statement, accused Yoon of “escalating tension and intensifying confrontation.” Yoon’s pro-THAAD stance would “ruin our economy” by way of provoking China, Lee said during Thursday’s debate.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link, but someone should grill Lee on what he means by future circumstances? Does that mean he will demand THAAD be withdrawn and expose South Korea more to a missile attack as part of North Korean negotiations?
Something the Stars & Stripes article does not point out is that Yoon wants Korea to purchase their own THAAD battery just like they have purchased Patriot missile defense batteries:
Concerning North Korea’s continued missile tests, People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday that, if elected, he would “establish a multi-level missile defense system that includes Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)” in order to “ensure the safety of the Korean people against the threat of nuclear missiles from North Korea, from the greater Seoul area to northern Gyeonggi.”
In a press conference Monday, a subsidiary of Yoon’s election committee in charge of the candidate’s foreign and security policy platform stated that under a Yoon presidency, the South Korean government would purchase THAAD from the US with 1.5 trillion won and directly operate the system through the South Korean military.
The THAAD base in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, was established with US government funds and is being operated by US Forces Korea (USFK). As the THAAD interceptor in Seongju has a maximum range of 200 km and thus cannot reach missiles attacking the greater Seoul area, the Yoon campaign is arguing for an additional THAAD battery to protect the 20 million residents of Seoul and its surrounding areas from the threat of North Korean missiles.
Hankyoreh
You can read more at the link, but I think Yoon should be more clear in his argument that THAAD can better protect the Seoul area from certain ballistic missile threats, however it does nothing against the artillery and short range rockets that can easily range Seoul. THAAD is not a magic bullet that can stop all threats to the Seoul area.
I am against THAAD because of these reasons.
1) THAAD is useless against North Korean and Chinese supersonic missiles.
2) North Korea and China aren’t going to rain missiles on South Korea any time soon for no reason, just to have fun. They are tyrannical countries but they aren’t crazy.
3) Bringing in more THAAD will mean more dependence on the United States, meaning South Korea is more open to the US blackmails. It’s bad enough right now, all the bashings of South Korea within the US, how it’s a welfare queen, with South Korea sipping off the US taxpayer generosities. Bringing in the THAAD will worsen the US demands that South Korea pay $5, $6, $7, $10 billion a year more for US troops and they will demand South Korea to transfer all the South Korea’s tech companies to the US, including the semiconductor and EV battery companies- complete hollowing out of South Korea is under way already.
4) One of Yoon’s promises is that when he gets into power, he wants to dismantle and cancel the entire South Korean defense industry, and have the country rely strictly on purchased US hardware. That will be good for the US defense industry, but bad for South Korea which has been paying through its nose, for bad defective US equipment. For instance, the entire fleet of 40 F-35 jets is grounded, unusable. South Korea also bought 5 Global Hawks and only one is in use due to defects, with the US manufacturer refusing to service them. These were all bought by the same party that Yoon now leads, and who now wants to take South Korea back to total reliance on the US.
1. Doesn’t THAaAaAaD have some sort of fancy over-the-horizon radar that sees into China?
2. It is really there to see raining missiles? The fact that China really doesn’t want it makes it seem like maybe South Korea should really have two or three scattered around.
3. Well… Korea wanted more globalism. Don’t complain about more globalism. The days of Korean politicians and big Korean companies putting Korea First are gone. Just like ineffective masks are a sign of submission and compliance, the ineffective vaccine programs are a sign of submission and compliance… but on a national level. When Korea is ready to stand up to globalism, I am standing with you. Until then, transfer your technology and buy your military hardware. Don’t worry. America is transferring technology to China and buying stuff as well. Korea is at the bottom of this stack… but Koreans gave into globalism… so don’t want to hear whining that the stripper doesn’t love them.
4. Well… get your calculator out and see if it is better to buy 40 lemon planes and try to keep them running or rent the service of mercenaries who maintain the lemons with the assistance of the American taxpayer (or the printing press (or the Chinese bond buyers)). I don’t know the answer… but all my decisions are based on what the calculator says. My responsibility is to feed good data into the calculator. And if the planes are junk, negotiate a better contract. It isn’t like their weaknesses can’t be found with 10 minutes of internet research.
I sympathize with your views… but they all can be (or should have been) managed.
@Korean Man, maybe you missed the part that Yoon wants South Korea to purchase their own THAAD battery. This would mean less reliance on the US. Also are you against the ROK’s Patriot missile batteries that are spread across the country to defend it? If not why are you against purchasing THAAD?
While freely admitting my carnal preferences are like the image I post here, the Bible is clear about how to obtain peace and security:
and
This would mean less reliance on the US.
Not exactly. If the ROK decides to purchase its own THAAD battery it would be reliant on the US for spare parts and maintenance.
If the US decides for some reason to cut off spare parts and/or dramatically increase the price for maintenance than THAAD becomes a useless toy.
The ROK is developing its own long-range ABM in the form of L-SAM, and since LIG-Nex1, the main contractor for the missile recently opened a production center for L-SAM, serial production should start soon.
Which means there is no need for the ROK to procure THAAD, in the first place.
TOK, in the interim, while the RoK is busy building all these new toys, they still need an umbrella against steel rain. Maybe they can just rent a THAAD site or three…
@TOK, the ROK already has American manufactured Patriot missile batteries which have had no issues receiving parts. Additionally the parts are supplied by US private industry not the American government. Anyway I am totally supportive of the ROK developing their own missile defense if in the long-run it means less reliance on the U.S. military.