Controversy continues to flare after the Ministry of National Defense (MND) on May 4 declared a 2.85 million pyeong (9.5 million square meter) area of land around Daechuri, Pyeongtaek, as a "military-controlled area." It declared the area as militarily controlled when there were neither military facilities nor troops there, observers say, announcing its decision while simultaneously sending troops to the area. In addition, the ministry and the city of Pyeongtaek disagree about when local government opinion on the matter was delivered, legally required in the establishment of such an area.
Legal experts are saying there are some major holes in the action that was taken, since the ministry decided to establish an area to protect military facilities when there were no facilities there at the time.
Kim Chil-jun of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society called it a "complete shortcut around legal procedures," because "you need to have a military facility present in order to determine whether it needs an area to protect it." Lawyer Kim Seung-gyo said the decision is "systematically and qualitatively invalid" because the declaration circumvented the law.
The ministry maintains it made its decision through proper legal channels. "It would be extremely limiting if only fully completed buildings could be recognized as military facilities," a ministry official said. "This proposal was made possible because a law firm made an authoritative decision that buildings could be recognized as military facilities at the start of their construction."
Besides the controversy regarding existing military structures on the land, the paper trail surrounding the designation is being closely followed. Under existing law, the head of the concerned region's local government must present a statement of his views before a final decision is made.
The MND says it received on April 28 the local government's written opinion on the matter prior to their decision, which was officially announced May 4 but made at a committee meeting on May 1. The city of Pyeongtaek denies this, saying it delivered its views to the ministry three days after the decision, on May 4.
"On May 4, the ministry sent a survey to us, asking for our opinion," an official in the Pyeongtaek mayor’s office said. "After writing out our response, I showed it to the mayor and vice mayor and received their approval by e-mail."
Confirming the Pyeongtaek city official's statement, Han Yeong-gu, the vice mayor of the city, said, "I made electronic approval at around 5pm on May 4."
Observers critical of the defense ministry’s claims believe the opinion survey was sent to Pyongtaek after the ministry had made its decision. The ministry belatedly added the mayor’s office opinion, these observers say, as a shortcut to follow legal procedure.
Clash between defense ministry, Pyeongtaek city office continues |
