Presidential Office: "THAAD Deliberate Delay Allegations by Moon Administration Must Be Thoroughly Investigated and Disclosed to the Public"

Board of Audit and Inspection Reviews Whether to Launch Probe into Alleged Deliberate THAAD Delay
"South Korea, US, Japan Discuss Document Release Ahead of Summit"

The Presidential Office stated that if there are suspicions that the Moon Jae-in administration deliberately delayed the normalization of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base, "it must be clearly revealed to the public through a thorough investigation."

A senior official from the Presidential Office met with reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the afternoon of the 2nd and, when asked about the allegations of deliberate delay in THAAD normalization by the previous administration, said, "THAAD is an essential measure to maintain the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture and the stable mission performance of the U.S. Forces Korea."

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection and others, the Republic of Korea Reserve Generals Association (DaSuJang) filed a public interest audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection on the 31st of last month regarding the previous administration’s Blue House and Ministry of National Defense. The core request is to investigate the reason for the delay in forming the environmental impact assessment council related to the THAAD deployment during the Moon Jae-in administration. DaSuJang claims that the previous administration avoided disclosing measurement results of THAAD’s electromagnetic waves and low-frequency noise and demands a fact-finding investigation.

They also demanded verification of allegations that THAAD-related documents were deliberately destroyed and that there was an agreement with China known as the '3 No's (3 Bul) and 1 Limit (1 Han)'. The '3 No's' refer to ▲not deploying additional THAAD units, ▲not participating in the U.S. missile defense (MD) system, and ▲not forming a ROK-U.S.-Japan military alliance. The '1 Limit' refers to restrictions on the operation of THAAD already deployed in South Korea. The Board of Audit and Inspection is reportedly reviewing whether it is appropriate to initiate an audit.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Office also disclosed that the three countries are currently consulting on a joint statement to be announced at the ROK-U.S.-Japan summit scheduled for mid-month. The official added, "The three countries are consulting on issuing an appropriate document that aligns with the purpose of holding the ROK-U.S.-Japan summit." Earlier, the U.S. Financial Times (FT) reported that the U.S. wants the joint statement to include a clause stating that "if either South Korea or Japan is attacked, they have an obligation to consult with each other."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.