US should consider damage Seoul suffers from THAAD push

By Kim Rahn

The U.S. government should consider the economic damage South Korea is suffering due to the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here before pushing for full installation, according to critics.

They said Washington needs to help Seoul address the economic retaliatory measures by China, which opposes the battery, claiming the radar could be used to spy on its military capability.

A group of U.S. senators sent a bipartisan letter to urge U.S. President Donald Trump to find a way to expedite the full deployment of the THAAD system during his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in slated for later this week, according to a press release by Senator Cory Gardener, Friday.

The 18 senators said they wrote the letter to emphasize the importance of the Seoul-Washington alliance and the need for effective joint measures to deter the threat from North Korea.

“In this regard, you and President Moon should seek a way to expedite the procedural review that is currently hindering the full deployment of the THAAD system. We ask you to reiterate to President Moon that the decision to deploy THAAD was an alliance decision and protects both U.S. troops and millions of South Korean citizens, while not posing any threat to South Korea’s neighbors,” they said.

Their request comes as the full deployment of the anti-missile system is expected to be delayed for about a year, following new findings in late May about the Park Geun-hye administration’s alleged procedural flaws in deciding to install the system. Moon ordered a full-scale environmental assessment of the deployment location.

Although some U.S. government officials and senators said they understand the situation, others have expressed discomfort over the delay. Senator Dick Durbin, who met Moon a day after the President gave the order, showed uneasiness at the controversy over THAAD. In an interview with a local daily, Durbin said he told Moon that if South Korea doesn’t want the battery, the U.S. could spend the $923 million budget for the deployment in some other place, although Cheong Wa Dae denied the report.

However, critics say Washington needs to understand the economic damage Seoul has suffered and will suffer due to China’s protest against the anti-missile system.

Experts say that if the U.S. wants South Korea to move faster in the assessment and full deployment, it needs to help South Korea more actively in assuring China that the radar will be no military threat and persuading it to drop the economic retaliation.

“If Moon decides to move forward with the THAAD deployment, which I expect he will, then he needs to get assurance from Trump that the U.S. will weigh in with China to prevent further economic retaliation,” Frank Aum, a visiting scholar at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.

According to a report from the Hyundai Research Institute, South Korea is expected to experience 8.5 trillion won ($7.5 billion) in losses from the retaliation this year, an equivalent to 0.5 percent of the country’s GDP. The tourism sector alone is forecast to suffer 7.1 trillion won in losses, as the number of Chinese visitors here may be cut by 40 percent from April to December compared to the same period last year.

The U.S. could draw more of a backlash from protesters here if it pushes for a speedy full deployment: an anti-THAAD protest was held in downtown Seoul, Saturday, with about 2,000 participants surrounding the U.S. Embassy.

The delay via the assessment is partially a tactic to buy time to prevent further retaliatory measures by China, which is South Korea’s largest trade partner and is also important in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue.