The ‘Petition for the Impeachment of Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek’ posted on the National Assembly’s public petition board has surpassed 250,000 signatures just two weeks after its posting. [Photo=Ministry of National Defense]

The ‘Petition for the Impeachment of Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek’ posted on the National Assembly’s public petition board has surpassed 250,000 signatures just two weeks after its posting. This is a clear warning that the security policies of the Lee Jae-myung administration have already exceeded the limits of public patience.

Facing this public outrage, the Liberal Democratic Party asks today:

For whom are you trying to dismantle the Republic of Korea Armed Forces? For whom are you destroying the 49-year-old counterintelligence system, and for whom are you attempting to erase the history and identity of the military academies, the very roots of our armed forces? Is this reckless policy of blinding the military—which should be watching the enemy—and pulling out the pillars of national security one by one intended for the Republic of Korea, or is it serving the forces that seek to shake the foundations of our nation?

Disabling counterintelligence functions and scattering the military’s intelligence capabilities is an act of blatant collaboration with the enemy, serving the interests of hostile nations.

We must point out that it was Lee Jae-myung who initially appointed Ahn Gyu-baek, who had only served in a substitute military service role, to the position of Minister of National Defense.

The President is the final authority who approved the dismantling of the Defense Security Support Command, pushed for the premature transfer of wartime operational control within his term, and decimated the front-line GOP troops by 75%, effectively tearing down our own front lines of security. The public is watching closely as Lee Jae-myung ignores the safety of our soldiers—offering only delayed directives after reserve force accidents—while rushing to dismantle the very foundations of the military. Ahn Gyu-baek is merely the executor; Lee Jae-myung is the architect and the one ultimately responsible.

Collapsed Counterintelligence: 49 Years of Security Assets Dismantled Overnight

Splitting and scattering the Defense Security Support Command, which has blocked espionage and protected military secrets and defense technologies, without sufficient verification or public consensus, is an act of dismantling national security. The intelligence vacuum and the weakening of response capabilities were predetermined consequences, and the price will be paid entirely by the people, our soldiers, and the entire security of the Republic of Korea.

Destroying the counterintelligence system is not merely organizational restructuring. Just as a small crack can collapse an entire dam, this is an act of tearing down the bulwark of national security from within.

Erasing History: The Consolidation of Military Academies is an Erasure of Armed Forces Identity

The idea of merging the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies into a so-called ‘Armed Forces Academy’ is tantamount to a declaration to erase the history and identity of the ROK Armed Forces. Military academies are not property that a specific regime can reshape at will.

They are national security assets and the roots of our military history. Trampling on the unique identity and expertise of each military branch overnight and masking it with talk of “strengthening jointness” is an act of deception against the people.

When Imperial Japan usurped our sovereignty, they first abolished the Korean Empire’s military academy. They closed the schools that trained the military and stripped us of the power to defend ourselves. The consolidation of academies that the Lee Jae-myung administration is pursuing with Ahn Gyu-baek is eerily similar to that scene from a century ago. We must uncover the real intentions behind their attempt to abolish these academies.

Neglected Lives: The Pocheon Reserve Force Death Accident, a Stark Example of Security Insensitivity and Incompetence

On May 13, a young man undergoing training at a ‘Full Reserve Battalion,’ which was in a pilot operation, lost his life due to a medical vacuum. It was confirmed that it took over 20 minutes for the 119 emergency rescue team to reach the scene.

Although a military medical support team was stationed just 8km away, they were not deployed promptly. Who will take responsibility for allowing such a sloppy response system to exist in an emergency situation where every minute is a matter of life and death? Despite this, the investigation and accountability for the military leadership have been muddled and ineffective.

Ironically, the Lee Jae-myung administration is comprised of the very people who, until just recently, demanded the previous administration be held fully accountable for the death of Corporal Chae Su-geun. After a 150-day investigation, the special counsel on the Chae case indicted 33 people, even including a former president.

Those who used the blade of a special counsel, claiming that reduction and cover-ups of a soldier's death could never be tolerated, why are they so silent now before the death of a reservist under the reign of the Lee Jae-myung administration’s Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek?

If the rigor applied to Corporal Chae is not applied to the young reservist in Pocheon, they must explain the reason for this discrimination directly to the public. Lee Jae-myung, answer why your loose tongue, which spoke so loudly before, is now gagged before a young man’s death.

The 250,000 petition signatures, erupting from the overlap of countless security disasters—the dismantling of the counterintelligence command, the destructive consolidation of military academies, and the mismanagement of reserve forces—are a desperate cry from ordinary citizens determined to protect their nation’s safety. It is a stern judgment from the people, eloquently proving the total failure of the Lee Jae-myung administration’s security policy.

The Liberal Democratic Party demands:

Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek must take full responsibility for this stern warning from the people and step down immediately. Furthermore, the National Assembly must immediately initiate impeachment proceedings in accordance with Article 65 of the Constitution.

The National Assembly must review this petition, currently referred to the National Defense Committee, swiftly and strictly without political stalling. They must thoroughly investigate the illegality and accountability regarding the entire process of dismantling the counterintelligence command and consolidating the military academies, without exception, including the President.

As the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Lee Jae-myung must personally apologize to the public for the dismantling of the counterintelligence command, the abolition of the military academies, and the resulting security vacuum, and step down.

The Liberal Democratic Party solemnly warns that before a leadership that abandons the Commander-in-Chief powers entrusted by the people and destroys the pillars of national security, the impeachment of the President is also a legitimate and unavoidable constitutional right that the people may exercise.

The Liberal Democratic Party warns that on the day this regime’s reckless acts of self-harm to national security and collaboration with the enemy see their illusions of power vanish like morning mist, they will certainly face the blade of judgment. Those who have torn out the roots of our armed forces and breached the dams of our security today will never be able to escape their names and their accountability.

July 2, 2026

Attorney Ko Young-joo, Liberal Democratic Party