Defense minister apologizes over rift with presidential adviser

By Jun Ji-hye

Defense Minister Song Young-moo apologized Tuesday for defamatory remarks about President Moon Jae-in’s security adviser.

“I apologize for my careless remarks,” he said during a session of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Song’s apology came hours after Cheong Wa Dae issued a “stern warning” to him for openly criticizing Moon Chung-in, a Yonsei University professor and special adviser on security and diplomacy for the President, during a National Assembly Defense Committee session, Monday.

Song said he was given the warning from the President’s top national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong.

“Cheong Wa Dae has issued a stern warning to Minister Song for his inappropriate expression as a Cabinet member and uncoordinated remarks that have caused confusion about government policy,” Yoon Young-chan, the chief press secretary, told reporters.

The warning was issued as Minister Song said during the Monday’s session it was “deplorable” that Moon Chung-in is speaking to the media carelessly as a scholar, but this is hardly suitable for a presidential adviser.

Defense Minister Song Young-mo

Song’s remarks were construed as a counterattack against the adviser who slammed the defense chief, Sept. 15, for mentioning a “decapitation operation” against the North Korean leadership. Song mentioned such an operation as one of the possible options in the event of war while appearing before the Assembly on Sept. 4, a day after the North conducted its sixth nuclear test. The adviser criticized this, saying Song used “quite an inappropriate expression” that could have unnecessarily provoked North Korea.

The adviser earlier courted controversy by suggesting what he claimed were his personal ideas as a scholar, including proposals to reduce the scale of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises in exchange for the North’s suspension of its nuclear and missile programs. The suggestions were controversial as they could be seen as undermining the allies’ joint efforts to curb the North’s nuclear and missile threats.

During the Monday session, Song also said he “heard” that the Ministry of Unification plans to delay the Moon administration’s planned humanitarian assistance, worth $8 million, to Pyongyang for quite a long time.

The remarks were in contrast to a position of President Moon who said humanitarian assistance should be dealt with separately from political situations.

The unification ministry later said there has been no change in the government plan.

Regarding the warning from Cheong Wa Dae, ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said, “We will take heed of that,” adding that there will be another chance for Song to express his position.