[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Shin Won-sik "No to Light Aircraft Carrier, Yes to Nuclear Submarine"

Written Response from the National Assembly National Defense Committee

Shin Won-sik, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, has clearly expressed opposition to the construction of light aircraft carriers (30,000-ton class), which was a key project promoted during the Moon Jae-in administration to prepare for maritime expansion by neighboring countries.

Shin Won-sik, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, is arriving at the hearing preparation office in the Army Hall on the 15th. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

In a written response submitted to the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly on the 25th, ahead of his confirmation hearing on the 27th, Shin stated, "The light aircraft carrier project requires a large-scale budget and a long period of time, so we will carefully review whether a light aircraft carrier is absolutely necessary before making a decision."

During the Moon Jae-in administration, the Navy's light aircraft carrier construction project considered the F-35B, which is capable of vertical takeoff and landing, as the carrier-based aircraft. However, the military decided last year to purchase an additional 20 F-35A stealth fighters, effectively canceling the introduction of the F-35B.

The light aircraft carrier project emerged during the Moon administration as part of advocating for self-reliant defense, but under the new government, the military has set a policy to prioritize budget investment in the Korean 3-axis system?referring to the kill chain, Korean missile defense, and massive retaliation?and manned/unmanned combined combat systems.

However, Shin showed a positive stance on the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines. He said, "Nuclear-powered submarines have military utility such as high speed and the ability to stay submerged for long periods," but added, "It is necessary to comprehensively consider various factors including security environment and international agreements beyond military necessity."

Inside and outside the military, it is pointed out that whether the decision is made to develop domestically or import foreign nuclear submarines, many challenges lie ahead.

First is the budget. The Navy launched a 4,000-ton nuclear submarine project team in 2004 during the Roh Moo-hyun administration under the banner of self-reliant defense and conducted research. At that time, the Ministry of National Defense estimated the construction cost of one nuclear-powered submarine at 1.3 trillion won. Considering that this year’s defense budget is about 43 trillion won, it would require giving up other major weapon production and imports. On the other hand, some argue that if the government makes a firm decision and provides support, the budget issue will not be an obstacle.

The international community must also be persuaded. The countries possessing nuclear-powered submarines are only the five permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council who are nuclear-weapon states. India was added in 2012. If our military immediately pursues nuclear submarine construction, strong opposition from China and Russia is expected, and it could also provide a pretext for Japan to arm itself with nuclear weapons.

Even if diplomatic issues are resolved, the final hurdles of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) await. There is still a significant difference in position between South Korea and the United States regarding the Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement signed in 1973. The revised Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement last year stipulates that "it shall not include any military purpose." Regarding the interpretation of the term ‘military purpose,’ our military must persuade the US and the international community with the argument that "a nuclear-powered submarine is not a nuclear weapon but simply a submarine propelled by nuclear fuel."

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