South Korea and the US military on Friday decided on a new location within Seongju-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, as an alternate site for the upcoming US missile defense system deployment, flip-flopping on its original decision in July due to residents’ dissent.

But the Defense Ministry’s refusal to officially and publicly make the announcement to the press aggravated growing doubts over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system. The THAAD system deployment has been behind the eight ball over health concerns, questions about effectiveness and objection from international parties like China. 

According to the ministry data submitted to the National Assembly, the designated site is a location in Dalmasan in the country’s southern region, which refers to a golf course in Chojeon-myeon that is located some 18 kilometers north off the Seongju county office.

“The Dalmasan area has the relevant infrastructure which makes it possible to set up a THAAD battery in proper time,” the data said. The allies plan to deploy and operate the THAAD system by next year.

Officials of the golf course said they will “positively” consider the ministry’s offer “for the sake of the greater good.”

The ministry had initially planned to deploy THAAD in Seongsan-ri, Seongju-gun, where its artillery base is currently located. But fierce opposition from residents forced it to consider an alternate spot.

While the ministry says Seongsan-ri is not completely off the table, it is believed to have scrapped the original plan.

The golf course is at a less populated and higher altitude -- 680 meters above sea level to 383 meters -- than the original spot. Officials said it was not considered a candidate in the initial evaluation for potential THAAD locations since it is owned by Lotte Group, not the government.

The ministry, however, refused to carry out an official announcement or media briefing on their latest decision.

In Korea, it is conventional for a government agency to hold an official media briefing in matters considered of great importance to national interest.

Ministry Spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said a presentation held for officials of Seongju county office sufficed as “an official announcement.” Seongju residents were briefed on the matter in the morning.

“Our position is that we assessed the explanation (to Seongju) as an official announcement, which we thought was considerate for the residents,” he said.

While the golf course technically belongs to Seongju-gun, it is geographically closer to Gimcheon. This has sparked citywide protest, with Gimcheon Mayor Park Bo-saeng having commenced an indefinite hunger strike against the plan since Wednesday.

When it was opined that a briefing session for a single county does not qualify as an announcement, Moon replied that Seongju represents all the parties of interest on the THAAD matter.

The change of location plan by the ministry worked to quell high protest from Seongju, but also left a dent in the credibility of the military, which had heralded the original site as the best possible option to house THAAD.

The review of alternate sites for THAAD came after months of protests from Seongju residents and days after President Park Geun-hye promised to do so in a meeting with lawmakers representing the constituencies in August.

In addition to Gimcheon, members of Won Buddhism also oppose the stationing the THAAD system in the area. The golf course is located about 500 meters from its sacred ground.

Won Buddhism believers on Friday held a press conference condemning the plan in front of the ministry.

On the eve of South Korea’s final decision, China again voiced objection to the allies’ THAAD plans.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said Beijing “means what it says” when mentioning possible countermeasures to the missile defense system.

“We will pay close attention to relevant developments, and consider taking necessary actions to protect national strategic security and the regional strategic balance,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying in the monthly news briefing.


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)