The agreement between Washington and Seoul to deploy a U.S missile defense system in South Korea reignited political debate Monday over the efficacy of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and whether the negotiation process lacked discussion with legislative bodies and the general public.

The ruling Saenuri Party reiterated that THAAD was crucial to countering North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats. The opposition parties warned that the missile system could fail to fully protect the nation and blamed the government for its failure to go through a process of building public consent.

But even the opposition parties were at odds over the details, as the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea and the third-biggest People’s Party differed over whether the THAAD deployment constituted a bigger political decision that requires parliamentary approval or a national referendum.

The Saenuri Party leadership said in the party meeting that deploying the U.S. missile system was “inevitable” to promoting national security and enhancing the ROK-U.S. alliance, as North Korea ratchets up its nuclear and missile capability.

“North Korea continues to attempt military provocations on the Korean Peninsula. THAAD deployment is an inevitable decision to counter the North’s threat and bring safety to the people,” said Saenuri Party’s interim leader Kim Hee-ok. 

The conservative party’s floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk noted that the THAAD deployment is the allies’ “strategic decision” to prevent the North’s security threat and that the government needs to exercise “sovereign right” to determine its own security policy.

The opposition bloc, however, expressed worries that the missile system would not be effective enough to prevent the reclusive regime’s ever-growing missile capability, such as the submarine-launched ballistic missile launched by the North a day after the agreement to deploy the THAAD.

The center-left parties also warned that the U.S. missile defense system would instead prompt diplomatic backlash from China and Russia.

Following the announcement to deploy the missile system, Moscow and Beijing opposed the move and claimed that the measure would hurt the strategic balance in the region.

“Looking at the negotiation process, (I realize) the government reached the deal in a cursory manner and failed to gain, if not an agreement, even an implicit consensus from China and Russia. The Park Geun-hye government has failed in diplomacy and security policy,” said the Minjoo Party floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho.

The opposition party’s chairman Rep. Kim Chong-in shared his concerns.

While the centrist lawmaker said that he acknowledged the need to adopt the missile system, Kim urged the government to coordinate more with the legislative body over the measure.

In a move to set a more assertive tone on the issue, the third-biggest People’s Party and minor Justice Party demanded the government seek parliamentary ratification citing how the THAAD deployment would impose financial burden on the taxpayers.

“If (the treaty) requires our territory and money, then it needs to be ratified by the Assembly,” said People’s Party floor leader Rep. Park Jie-won. To make his case, he cited a parliamentary approval of 2004 ROK-U.S. decision to relocate the U.S. bases in Yongsan garrison to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province

According the Korea’s Constitution Article 60, the National Assembly has the right to consent to the conclusion and ratification of treaties pertaining to mutual assistance or mutual security, and treaties which would incur grave financial burden on the state or people.

The centrist party’s leader Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo even suggested that the THAAD deployment needs to be put to a national referendum, saying that the proposal could resolve political impasse over what he views as “national agenda.”

But the Saenuri Party and the Minjoo Party dismissed the minor parties’ ideas. Both the Saenuri Party’s whip and the Minjoo Party leader told reporters that the deployment of the missile system is not subject to either parliamentary ratification or a national referendum.

By Yeo Jun-suk(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)