The third-largest opposition party on Tuesday decided to mobilize “all possible measures” to bring about the withdrawal of the decision to deploy a disputed U.S. missile defense system here.

The People’s Party’s decision takes a harsher tone compared to the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea that remains split on its stance on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.

The Seoul and U.S. governments announced last week that they have reached an agreement on the controversial THAAD deployment on the peninsular against threats from North Korea. The decision that came after years of speculation is strongly lambasted by China and Russia for fears of expanding U.S. military clout in the region.

The agreement after several months of closed-door negotiations was made in response to North Korea’s nuclear and long-range missile tests in January and February.

The opposition parties, progressive scholars and civic groups have opposed the decision that they claim lacks long-term defense strategy and unnecessarily raises tension. They also criticized the missile defense system as having “unverified” efficacy.

The government, the military and conservative groups counter that the deployment is a sovereign decision that cannot be opposed by any other state and is aimed to improve the defense posture of the South against the rising nuclear threat from the North. 

The People’s Party has been vocal against THAAD, and it is now moving to step up its opposition.

The party said it will demand withdrawal of the deployment decision, and have the government gain approval from the National Assembly first if it needs to discuss the deployment again.

“I consider myself as a conservative. But I have opposed (the deployment of) THAAD based on my conscience,” said Rep. Kim Joong-ro, a former Army commander, during a party meeting in the morning. “The security and economic risks (from the deployment) are immense.”

Former co-chief Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo also voiced his concern.

“In return for acquiring a missile response ability against North Korea, we will (eventually) be assisting North Korea in holding onto its nukes, make reunification even harder, and place our economy in a difficult situation,” he said, referring to growing fears that China might retaliate by taking economic measures against South Korean companies.

Ahn had earlier suggested putting the decision to a referendum, but he did not repeat the proposal on Tuesday.

Rep. Kim Kwan-young highlighted the opposition from residents in the potential candidate locations for THAAD to be deployed, as well as the environmental and health risks from the system and its electromagnetic waves.

There were, however, also different, or less staunch, voices from within the party.

“Although I am not very well informed of the matter, there are talks that the decision to deploy THAAD is an excellent conclusion. Rather than opposing it for sake of opposition and demanding a withdrawal of the decision, it would be wiser to precondition (our opposition) by gaining China and Russia’s clearer stance on North Korea’s nuclear problem,” Rep. Yoo Sung-yop said.
 
(khnews@heraldcorp.com)