Key Minjoo lawmakers split on THAAD

The main opposition party’s former leader Rep. Moon Jae-in on Wednesday announced his opposition to the deployment of the U.S. missile system in South Korea, urging the government to reconsider the plan and seek out public consensus on the move.

Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)Meanwhile, the current Minjoo Party leader Rep. Kim Chong-in, dismissed Moon’s statement as a “personal opinion.” Kim reiterated that the nation should refrain from taking a “binary approach” toward the U.S. missile system and that the security plan is not a matter of a “Yes or No argument.”

The Minjoo Party has been showing mixed reactions and stances on the government’s deployment decision made last week.

The former Minjoo Party leader argued that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense deployment should be subject to the approval by the National Assembly, saying that the measure would lead to a possible hike in Korea’s burden-sharing cost under the Special Measures Agreement between Seoul and Washington. He added that the current development may call for a need to revise the SOFA.

The former presidential candidate added that the diplomatic and economic risk of deploying THAAD here would outweigh the benefit of the missile plan. Moon demanded the government present a comprehensive security plan before pushing THAAD deployment.  

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)





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By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)

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