Defense minister nominee says conditions ripe for OPCON transfer

Defense minister nominee Kang Shin-chul said Wednesday that Korea has made substantial progress in meeting the requirements for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) and that the conditions are now in place to move the process forward, lending support to the Lee Jae Myung administration’s push to complete the transfer within its term.

Speaking at his confirmation hearing before the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, Kang said the OPCON transfer was something “successive administrations have continuously pursued.”

“We have made considerable progress in meeting the required conditions and I believe the circumstances are also in place,” he said.

The Lee administration has made the OPCON transfer one of its key defense policy goals, seeking to complete the process before Lee leaves office. In written responses submitted to the Assembly ahead of the hearing, Kang cited completing the Full Operational Capability (FOC) assessment of the future Combined Forces Command as a major task related to the transfer.

Kang, a former deputy commander of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, has previously said the transfer should be pursued in a way that strengthens the alliance.

On another major security issue, Kang stopped short of taking a position on whether Korea should send forces to the Strait of Hormuz, saying any decision should be based on the safety of Korean nationals and the national interest.

“I served as an ambassador in the Middle East, so although it was for a short period, I have a good understanding of the situation,” said Kang, who served as Korea’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia earlier this year after retiring from the military.

“Above all, I think this issue should be approached with the safety of our people and the national interest in mind.”

He added that he understood no decision had yet been made on a deployment.

Kang also backed the need to reform Korea’s military academies, another defense initiative being pursued by the Lee administration.

“Successive governments have discussed reforming the military academies,” he said. “I believe integrated education is necessary.”

Kang said that if appointed, he would consider how best to strengthen collaboration among the services and move the reform forward. But he left room for changes to the Defense Ministry’s current plan to create an integrated military academy for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

“There are parts that I personally think need to be supplemented,” he said, adding that the current proposal was not yet complete. He said he would hear a range of views before working out a better plan.

The hearing also featured heated exchanges over property-related allegations involving Kang and his family.

Opposition lawmakers questioned Kang over his acquisition of an apartment through a special housing program for residents displaced by redevelopment and over his son’s purchase of a commercial property worth more than 700 million won ($512,000) in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province.

Kang’s son borrowed a total of 715.5 million won from his aunt and uncle to buy the property in June. The property was initially omitted from Kang’s asset disclosure submitted for the confirmation process and was added later. Kang’s side has said it was an inadvertent omission rather than an attempt to conceal the asset.

“It is difficult for a father to interfere in every aspect of the financial life of a 30-year-old son,” Kang said. He nevertheless apologized, saying the matter “fell short of the public’s expectations.”