Yoon Criticizes Ministry of National Defense for Describing Dokdo as a 'Disputed Area'... Orders Immediate Correction

Yoon: "An Unacceptable Incident"

President Yoon Suk-yeol reprimanded the Ministry of National Defense on the 28th for describing Dokdo as a disputed territory in the basic textbook for soldiers' mental strength education, calling it "an unacceptable matter," and ordered corrective measures.

On the same day, after being informed that the Ministry of National Defense recently published mental education materials for soldiers that described Dokdo, a territory of the Republic of Korea, as a disputed territory, President Yoon severely reprimanded the ministry and instructed immediate correction and strict measures, according to Kim Soo-kyung, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, in a written briefing.

The basic textbook for mental strength education, which the Ministry of National Defense will distribute to the entire military at the end of this month, states, "Around the Korean Peninsula, several major powers such as China, Russia, and Japan are sharply confronting each other," and "These countries project military power overseas for their own interests, and territorial disputes such as Diaoyudao (Japanese name: Senkaku Islands), the Kuril Islands, and Dokdo are ongoing, so military clashes can occur at any time."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Listing Dokdo alongside the Senkaku and Kuril Islands, which are currently disputed territories, has been criticized as contradicting the official position of our government that there is no territorial dispute regarding Dokdo. Our government, regardless of progressive or conservative administrations, has consistently opposed Japan's attempts to dispute Dokdo's sovereignty.

Jeon Ha-gyu, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, explained at the regular press conference that day, "Looking at the description, the subject is 'these countries' (major powers around the Korean Peninsula such as China, Russia, and Japan)," and "It means that the surrounding countries have various claims about territories, but it is not understood that our country recognizes Dokdo as a disputed territory."

However, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Yoon also strongly scolded the Ministry of National Defense, and it is expected that the basic textbook for mental strength education will be revised. Nevertheless, controversies over bias are expected to continue, including issues such as the omission of Dokdo on several maps of the Korean Peninsula included in the textbook and the overemphasis on President Rhee Syngman’s achievements.

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