Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said Thursday Korea has decided to send a 130-member special commando unit to the United Arab Emirates. The announcement ― or acknowledgement ― came after nearly a year of official denial of media suspicions about the troop dispatch as part of a $20-billion deal on Korea’s export of four nuclear reactors to UAE.
Two opposition parties have made clear their opposition to what they called the ``package deal” of Korean soldiers as de facto mercenaries.
Minister Kim said sending the ``black beret” troops would help enhance national interests by cementing military and economic ties with the oil-rich Middle East country. He noted that these soldiers will be there for two years not for combat but for training of their local counterparts. There are about 3,000 foreign soldiers from 10 countries for similar purposes, he added.
Yet it is hard to completely rule out military risks, as terrorist groups in surrounding countries might regard the Koreans’ presence as a thorn in their side. A troop dispatch is to do more harm than good for a country’s image as a peace promoter if it is not for peace-keeping operations.
Even if the government is right about the inevitability of a troop dispatch for economic and other reasons, it then should have reached the decision in a more transparent and plausible ways instead of resorting to another closed-room discussion. Not only is the process as important as the end result, but the unnecessary secrecy for administrative expediency can more often than not mar the cause of its moves, even sufficiently justifiable ones.
In this regard, the administration should be blamed for any controversy and parliamentary brawls and push matches expected on the National Assembly over this issue. The only way to avoid this is for officials to clearly explain from beginning to end and seek popular understanding.