Lawmakers divided over ending GSOMIA

LKP floor leader Na Kyung-won speaks during a recent party meeting at the National Assembly. / Yonhap

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Lawmakers are divided on the country's intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), that is slated for termination Nov. 22.

The opposition Liberty Party of Korea (LPK) said the government's decision to end the GSOMIA “planted a seed of distrust” and has become the reason behind Washington's demand to raise Seoul's payment for 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea troops stationed here.

LPK floor leader Na Kyung-won said during a meeting of the party's most senior members that the Moon administration was playing a dangerous game in diplomacy with Washington.

“It seems the Moon administration is imitating North Korea's brinkmanship-like diplomacy with the United States,” Na said.

“If the government terminates the GSOMIA as it announced before, the Korea-U.S. alliance will cross the point of no return in trust.”

Senior U.S. military and government officials including Washington's top defense official Mark Esper and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley have expressed their skepticism about the necessity of a U.S. military presence on the Korean peninsula. Asking South Korea to reverse course, they floated the idea of possibly cutting the number of American troops here.

LKP spokesman Rep. Kim Sung-won also denounced the Moon administration, claiming its diplomacy has been disastrous.

“It's a complete disaster. Not only the Trump administration but also think tank elites believe the termination of the GSOMIA will create cracks in the security cooperation framework between Korea, the U.S. and Japan. I believe the Moon administration's reckless diplomatic moves are the reason behind Washington's pressure demanding Seoul to pay more for American troops here,” he said.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) denounced the series of moves by Washington pressuring Seoul to raise its portion for stationing American troops by at least five times, but remained supportive about terminating the GSOMIA.

“President Moon Jae-in has decided to push ahead with his plan to end the intelligence-sharing pact. The decision is irreversible unless Tokyo withdraws its trade offensive against South Korea,” DPK floor leader Rep. Lee In-young said in a party meeting. “The Moon administration is working on the diplomatic framework after it terminated the GSOMIA.”