Yoon Geon-young "Who Benefits from Breaking 9.19... Losing More Than Gaining"

"Not a Matter to Fight with Buk"

Newly appointed Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik hinted at the necessity to suspend the effectiveness of the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement, which was concluded during the Moon Jae-in administration, citing Hamas's surprise attack on Israel as a reason. In response, Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former Chief of the Blue House Office of National Affairs under the Moon administration, raised his voice, saying, "If the September 19 military agreement is terminated, I want to ask who exactly benefits from it."

On the 12th, Yoon stated on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "Whether it is suspension or termination, (it is the same.) Even if the effectiveness of the September 19 military agreement is suspended, we lose much more than we gain."

Interview_Yoon Geon-young, Former Director of the Blue House National Situation Room./Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 10th, Minister Shin visited the Ministry of National Defense press room and suggested suspending the agreement's effectiveness, saying that the September 19 military agreement restricts real-time monitoring of North Korea's provocations in frontline areas.

However, Yoon said, "As seen in the Palestine and Israel situation, did Israel's proud Iron Dome intercept all missiles? No, many got through," adding, "The most important thing is to prevent North Korea from firing missiles or long-range artillery, not to engage in a power struggle and fight."

He continued, "If the Yoon Seok-yeol government can defeat and punish North Korea, is it right to wage war like Israel? What the government should do is to ensure that North Korea takes no military action at all. Punishing, retaliating, and overwhelming them requires having that kind of military and defense capability."

Regarding the government's consideration of suspending the effectiveness instead of terminating the September 19 military agreement, he questioned, "Termination carries the burden of breaking a promise made by the government first," adding, "The September 19 military agreement is a promise to pull back troops near the Demilitarized Zone and refrain from military actions against each other. Why should this promise be discarded?"