SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday (Mar 27) said the country would seek to reclaim wartime operational control from the US at an early date, underscoring the need for greater military self-reliance.
In a meeting with military leaders at the defence ministry, Lee also said the government would pursue military reform, such as implementing selective conscription to better reflect demographic and security realities.
Lee cited wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as tension on the Korean Peninsula, saying the armed forces’ foremost responsibility was to maintain readiness to respond to provocation by North Korea.
“The ironclad South Korea-US alliance is an essential pillar of peace and stability on the peninsula but excessive dependence is not desirable,” Lee said.
“The transfer of wartime operational control will be pursued swiftly.”
Currently, the US would command allied troops in the event of war on the Korean Peninsula, but successive South Korean governments have sought to regain wartime operational control.
Lee’s administration has signalled it aims to finalise the process during his term, which runs through 2030, once South Korea meets a set of military capability conditions agreed with the US.
Lee said South Korea’s military must be prepared to take a leading role in defending the peninsula, calling for a shift toward a “smarter, stronger military” equipped to deal with future battlefields shaped by advanced technology.
The armed forces are largely made up of conscripts, with most men required to serve for around 18 months, reflecting the country’s status as still at war with North Korea in the absence of a peace treaty following a 1953 armistice.
Selective conscription was a theme in Lee’s presidential campaigns, during which he pledged to retain mandatory service but allow eligible recruits to choose volunteer or alternative pathways and adjust service terms to address South Korea’s shrinking military manpower brought about by demographic change.
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