An audit by South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), revealed on Nov. 18, that the Moon Jae-in administration allegedly leaked details of U.S.-South Korea military operations related to the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system to civic groups in an effort to delay its deployment. The BAI also discovered that the administration disclosed classified information, including the operation’s name, schedule, and content, to a Chinese military attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, purportedly to further delay the system’s full deployment. After the operation was completed, the U.S. reportedly issued a strong protest to the South Korean government over the prior disclosure to China.
Earlier this month, the BAI referred former National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, former Vice Director Seo Joo-seok, former Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, and former Presidential Secretary for Civil Participation Lee Ki-heon (now a Democratic Party lawmaker) to the prosecution for further investigation. They face allegations of violating the Military Secret Protection Act, abuse of power, and obstruction of duty. The BAI determined that disclosing the classified military operation details regarding the THAAD missile replacement to civic group members and foreign military officers (Chinese military officers) violated the Military Secret Protection Act. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced plans to assign the case to a regional prosecutor’s office after reviewing the BAI’s findings.
A group of retired generals filed a public audit request in July last year, alleging that the Moon administration intentionally delayed the environmental impact assessment required for the formal deployment of THAAD ahead of Moon’s visit to China in December 2019. The BAI, which found grounds for some of these allegations, deployed its special investigation unit in October last year and has since audited 11 government agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, uncovering evidence of military intelligence leaks.
THAAD, developed by U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin, is a key missile defense system designed to counter North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile threats. It consists of radar, missile batteries, and surface-to-air interceptors. China has strongly opposed its deployment in South Korea, arguing that the THAAD radar could potentially detect Chinese ballistic missile launches early, thereby disrupting the strategic nuclear balance between the U.S. and China.
In 2016, under President Park Geun-hye, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to deploy THAAD in South Korea, and it was temporarily set up at a golf course in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province in April 2017. Following protests by local groups claiming that THAAD’s radar emissions could pose health risks, both governments decided to conduct a small-scale environmental impact assessment. However, after Moon took office in May 2017, he ordered a review of the plan and, in July, announced that instead of the small-scale assessment, which would take six months, a general environmental impact assessment lasting over a year would be conducted before deciding on THAAD’s permanent deployment.
But the Moon administration did not form the required evaluation committee for the general environmental assessment during its five-year term. Despite the U.S. submitting a project plan for the assessment in February 2019, the South Korean government failed to establish the committee, which was mandated by law to include government officials, residents’ representatives, and experts, and did not proceed with the necessary procedures. Defense Ministry documents later revealed that Cheong Wa Dae officials under Moon had delayed the committee’s formation ahead of Moon’s visit to China in December 2019. The BAI suspects that this delay was intentional to postpone THAAD’s permanent deployment.
