Minister Regrets Protest Letter Over Defense Budget Cut
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee apologized Friday for "causing a stir" by writing a letter to Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, in which he criticized Vice Defense Minister Chang Soo-man over the defense budget plan for next year.
"It is regrettable that my letter sparked an unnecessary controversy in the society. I never intended that," Lee said at a policy coordination meeting with generals. "I sent the letter to advise on the 2010 defense budget and show my loyalty to President Lee Myung-bak. However, it caused a misunderstanding."
In the four-page letter, Minister Lee claimed that Chang skipped consultations with him and other generals when Chang discussed a defense budget cut with the finance ministry, calling his behavior a "revolt." The minister demanded Cheong Wa Dae take disciplinary measures against Chang and drop Chang's idea of slashing proposed defense expenditures.
He also called for a steady increase in the defense budget, saying even the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, who pursued policies of engaging North Korea, had focused on modernizing defense technologies and systems.
The letter was sent to presidential chief of staff Chung Chung-kil, Kim Sung-hwan, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security, Yoon Jin-sik, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, and Finance Minister Yoon Jeong-hyun.
Analysts said Minister Lee's reaction reflects lack of coordination between top defense officials over the ministry's budget policy and that their conflict will dampen the morale of soldiers and military officers.
"National security stands above the logic of economics. I believe President Lee knows this well and loves soldiers and trust defense officials,'' the minister said at the meeting with generals.
Vice Minister Chang built his career at the finance ministry and served as head of the Public Procurement Service before being named vice defense minister in January. He was a key economic advisor to President Lee Myung-bak during election campaigns in late 2007.
He has called for a defense budget cut, saying the ministry should share pains of economic crisis and help address the country's growing budget deficit.
In July, the ministry asked the government to earmark 30.8 trillion won in 2010 defense budget, up 7.9 percent from this year. The finance ministry, however, recently proposed limiting the budget increase to 3.8 percent