Defense Security Command Involved in 'December 3' to Be Disbanded... OPCON Transfer to Be Pursued Within Presidential Term

The National Policy Planning Committee has decided to disband the Defense Security Command of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, which actively participated in the December 3 Martial Law. In addition, the committee will pursue the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) within the term of the Lee Jaemyung administration.

Hong Hyunik, head of the Foreign Affairs and National Security Subcommittee of the National Policy Planning Committee, stated at a public briefing held at the State Guest House of the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on August 13, "For the Lee Jaemyung administration to achieve diplomacy and national security centered on the national interest, it is essential to first have a strong military that earns the trust of the people."

First, the committee has decided to dissolve the Defense Security Command. The Command is under suspicion for its active involvement in the December 3 Martial Law, including breaking into the building of the National Election Commission, a constitutional body, and drafting martial law proclamations and lists of politicians to be arrested.

Yonhap News

Furthermore, the committee will push for the transfer of wartime operational control within the Lee Jaemyung administration's term. The transfer of OPCON, first discussed during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, was further negotiated during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations. The United States and South Korea agreed that the transfer would proceed not at a specific "time," but once certain "conditions" were met. Specifically, the process is to go through three stages: verification of Initial Operational Capability (IOC), verification of Full Operational Capability (FOC), and verification of Full Mission Capability (FMC).

In addition, the committee plans to enhance the three-axis defense system to secure independent deterrence capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Regarding this, the committee stated, "Based on a robust South Korea-U.S. alliance, we will promptly establish and implement a roadmap for the transfer of OPCON," adding, "We will build a deterrence posture against North Korea by improving our military's operational planning and command capabilities."

However, there are concerns both inside and outside the military regarding these plans. In the case of the Defense Security Command, if it is actually dismantled, there are discussions about retaining only the counterintelligence function among its three main roles-investigation, counterintelligence, and security-while distributing the investigation and security functions to the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters or to each military branch. In this scenario, the military's overall counterintelligence capability could be weakened. In particular, there are also criticisms that the organizations taking over functions such as background checks would be granted powers almost as extensive as those held by the existing Command, meaning the practical benefit might be limited.

There are also opinions that rushing the transfer of OPCON is not necessarily the best approach. This is because, for South Korea to regain OPCON, significant investments of time and money are required, including acquiring extensive intelligence and surveillance assets, strategic assets, and restructuring the combined exercise system. Im Cheolgyun, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, recently estimated at a policy seminar hosted by the People Power Party that the future South Korean military would need a budget of 34.999 trillion won to lead combined operations after the OPCON transfer. This figure amounts to about 60% of South Korea's current annual defense budget. One expert even predicted, "The actual cost will likely exceed this amount."

In addition, the issue must be resolved through consultations between South Korea and the United States. J.B. Brunson, Commander of United States Forces Korea and Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, pointed out in a recent interview with the Ministry of National Defense press corps, "If we take shortcuts to accelerate the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), it could jeopardize the readiness of forces on the Korean Peninsula," adding, "Rushing simply to say that the OPCON transfer is 'complete' does not serve the interests of either country."

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