President Lee: "Wartime Operational Control Must Be Returned as Soon as Possible... We Are Fully Capable"

President Lee Jae Myung Holds Tea-Time Meeting at Chunchugwan on the 19th
"Reliance on Others for Wartime OPCON Cannot Continue... Considering Various Approaches"

On October 19, President Lee Jaemyung said, "To speak plainly about wartime operational control, it must be returned at an early date. We are fully capable of doing so, and discussions between South Korea and the United States are basically proceeding toward returning it to us."

Meeting with reporters at Chunchugwan that day, President Lee said, "We have used the term 'transfer' for wartime operational control until now, but we should call it 'return' or 'restoration' instead," making the remarks above.

President Lee Jaemyung speaks with reporters in the lobby of Chunchugwan, the press center at Cheong Wa Dae, on Oct. 19, 2026. Yonhap News

President Lee explained, "One of the most essential components of sovereignty is military sovereignty," adding, "I believe this must be returned to us promptly so that the Republic of Korea can meet the minimum requirements of a sovereign state."

He continued, "I believe we should, of course, be able to defend ourselves, and that we are fully capable of doing so. If we lack anything, we should make up for it. We are also taking all kinds of measures to strengthen our defense capabilities."

President Lee also emphasized, "(South Korea) ranks fifth in military power worldwide, and even when comparing defense spending, our country's spending is about 1.5 times North Korea's total annual output," adding, "We are also significantly increasing our defense budget."

President Lee said, "It has been more than 70 years since we entrusted others with wartime operational control," and noted, "Considering the Republic of Korea's standing in the world, we are on par with any other country economically, culturally and militarily."

He reiterated, "Leaving wartime operational control in others' hands and relying on them for our defense is not a situation we can simply allow to continue. We are considering various approaches."

Regarding some public opinion that the conditions for returning wartime operational control have not been met, President Lee said, "It is appreciated that they want to make sure we can defend ourselves and conduct operations on our own before handing it over," but dismissed the concern, saying, "I think this is something we need to do ourselves."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.