Military at odds over vice minister’s role
Lee determined to command JCS in absence of defense chief
By Lee Tae-hoon
The military is facing a dispute over the role of the vice minister if the defense minister is absent on an overseas trip or for other causes, officials said Thursday.
They pointed out that the lack of consensus within the Ministry of National Defense (MND) over the authority of the vice minister may hinder a prompt response to possible attacks by North Korea when the minister is not present.
Under the law, Vice Defense Minister Lee Yong-gul has a full authority to command the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and all the armed forces when the minister is away, but Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and JCS chief Gen. Jung Seung-jo oppose this.
According to a senior military legal officer, if the JCS chief or other commanders of military units challenge the authority of Lee, who has reaffirmed his willingness to command them in Kim’s stead, this can be considered mutiny.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Lee said he is ready to assume the full authority of the defense minister, who is obliged to control and give orders to the JCS chief, when Kim makes overseas trips or is unable to carry out his duties.
“I’m legally entitled to command the JCS chief in place of Minister Kim in the event of his absence,” Lee said.
Kim and Jung, however, refuted this, saying the military should not be confined by the law in order to effectively deter North Korean threats, and must maintain flexibility over the command of the country’s 650,000-strong armed forces.
“The JCS chief should take over my role as the top military commander when I am away,” Minister Kim, who served as JCS chairman between 2006 and 2008, said in a recent meeting with defense reporters.
He said Vice Minister Lee, a seasoned economic bureaucrat without a military background, should only take charge of administrative matters at the MND during his absence as he is not fit for the role of commander.
Lee served in economy-related government bodies for three decades before becoming the vice strategy and finance minister in February 2009 and vice defense minister in August 2010.
“I believe the defense ministry should consider having another vice minister with the experience to lead military operations,” Kim said.
Jung agreed with Kim’s view that he should assume full authority to command the armed forces if North Korea carries out military provocations in the absence of the minister.
“I should be in charge of military operations over the vice defense minister during Kim’s overseas trips,” Jung said. “I don’t believe I need the vice minister’s approval in making major military decisions at a time when the country needs to take action over the enemy’s military threats.”
The four-star general added that he will seek the minister’s advice before making important military decisions via military communication systems if the North mounts an attack on the South while the latter is abroad.
Under the Law on the Organization of National Armed Forces, the JCS chief is required to follow the orders of his commander, which is the vice defense minister in the minister’s absence, in carrying out military operations.
Kim made six overseas trips, including one to the United States with President Lee Myung-bak in October last year, and has stayed abroad for 23 days since he became the chief of the military in December 2010.