Presidential candidates diverge on THAAD installation
South Korea's top presidential candidates expressed diverging views Wednesday after parts of a controversial U.S. missile defense system were installed here overnight.
Liberals criticized the move but conservatives hailed it as North Korea appeared set to conduct another nuclear or missile test.
Around midnight, U.S. troops in South Korea began installing equipment for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery at its site in Seongju, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul, sparking fierce protests from local residents.
South Korea and the U.S. agreed on the deployment last year. But the installation came unannounced as a joint environmental survey was still under way.
The campaign team of presidential front-runner candidate Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party immediately denounced the move.
"We express strong regret over the THAAD (installation) taking place in disregard of the people's will and procedures," Park Kwang-on, public relations chief of Moon's election campaign, said in a news briefing.
Moon has argued the incoming president should be allowed to make the final decision on the THAAD deployment after the election on May 9.
"It is very inappropriate as it prevents the next government from carrying out any policy judgment," Park said, urging the defense ministry and military to reveal their roles in the installation.
Ahn Cheol-soo, the current runner-up from the center-left People's Party, demanded the deployment proceed in accordance with the law under the bilateral agreement. Ahn earlier opposed the system but reversed his position to say an agreement between states should be honored.
"It is regrettable that (the system) was suddenly installed in the middle of the night even before the environmental survey was carried out," Son Kum-ju, chief spokesman of Ahn's campaign, said in a separate press briefing.
He expressed concern over the physical clashes that took place between the local residents and police.
"The military's reason for being is to safeguard the people," he said. "As the THAAD deployment is aimed at defending the safety of the people, more attention should have been paid to following procedures and coordinating views to prevent a clash with the local residents. We express regret at the Ministry of National Defense."
Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party called for an end to the controversy, saying THAAD is the best defense weapon to counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.
The installation is expected to help "secure early operational capability," said Kim Myung-yeon, chief spokesman of his campaign, echoing the ministry's position.
"We hope the THAAD deployment is completed without a hitch through cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. for its complete operational capability within the year," he said.
Yoo Seong-min of the splinter conservative Bareun Party also welcomed the move.
"For a long time, I have argued that it should be deployed before the presidential election to stop national division. It was a great decision," he told reporters on his campaign trail in Seoul. (Yonhap)