A scene from the ROK-US combined training. [Photo=Yonhap News]

The current administration's rhetoric of self-reliant defense, stating "A nation must protect itself and abandon subservient thinking dependent on other countries. As the Republic of Korea possesses military power ranking in the top 5 globally and strong defense industry capabilities, there is no need to feel anxious about the difficulty of defense without foreign troops," may appear to be a top priority for a sovereign nation on the surface. 

While the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) may be subject to public manipulation in terms of self-reliance and joint force decision-making, including in war, considering the command and capabilities of the ROK-US alliance and the interdependence of modern warfare, a "go-it-alone self-reliant defense theory for OPCON transfer" is a dangerous notion that will only lead to cracks in the alliance and security isolation. 

The reason even the world's strongest military, the US, does not speak of self-reliant defense but instead relies on multilateral combined defense, such as NATO and the ROK-US alliance, as a core pillar of its security is because it understands that independent warfare is impossible without sharing advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets and global supply chains.

In reality, cutting-edge weapons like the F-35 stealth fighter were born from technological cooperation among nine allied nations. Similarly, our KF-21 is a product of independent technology and US cooperation; it will lose its normal combat functions if it deviates from the ROK-US alliance and the Western network. 

Self-reliant defense is not about "going it alone" by building walls of isolation, but about "shoulder-to-shoulder" collaboration with strong allies. It is a "strategic lever" to prevent war with allies and decisively suppress the enemy if war breaks out; it is not an unsustainable imaginary "utopia of self-sufficiency," but an "intelligent collective" that substitutes the strength of the alliance into the nation's shield through irreplaceable presence. It is an active equilibrium that defends sovereignty and prevents war as a "core of alliance" that mutually thrives, rather than isolated unilateralism. 

1. Perfect Self-Reliant Defense is a Security Utopia That Does Not Exist on Earth

From the perspective of modern military science, "pure self-reliant defense," where security is solely the responsibility of a nation without allied support, is closer to an unachievable theoretical hypothesis. Even the United States, possessing the world's strongest military, defines 'alliances' as essential assets for survival through its National Defense Strategy (NDS). The reason it concentrates its capabilities on the "Indo-Pacific latticework security system" and multi-layered multi-stakeholder cooperation bodies like the Quad and AUKUS, along with NATO, is because it is economically and strategically impossible to control global threats with US capabilities and resources alone. 

The reality that even nuclear powers like the UK and France rely on global intelligence networks instead of pursuing an independent path proves that modern security is no longer an isolated fortress but a densely interconnected network. 

This interdependence of security is starkly evident in ISR assets and technological supply chains, which are crucial to modern warfare. The "Cheongung-II" missile system, which demonstrated its true value in the recent Middle East conflict in the UAE, was able to achieve a 97% interception rate because it was linked with US military intelligence. Even if the Republic of Korea possesses reconnaissance satellites with astronomical budgets, it cannot completely replace the vast signal intelligence from the US that monitors the entire globe 24 hours a day. As exemplified by the F-35 stealth fighter, advanced weapons are already a combined structure created through technological cooperation among dozens of countries. 

2. The Reason Strategic Autonomy is More Important Than OPCON Transfer and Self-Reliant Defense

"Strategic autonomy" is more important than emotional self-reliance for OPCON transfer and self-reliant defense. Strategic autonomy is the "capacity to independently judge and execute matters related to a nation's core interests, even within international interdependence and alliance systems." It is not about isolated self-sufficiency, but about securing "decision-making authority" by fulfilling one's role as an ally. 

Autonomy means possessing the strategic prowess to fly with the wings of an alliance, but determining the direction of flight oneself. The ROK-US alliance becomes a truly equal and solid alliance only when both sides become stronger by leveraging each other's strengths and sharing core capabilities. 

Possessing "our eyes," such as independent reconnaissance satellites and unmanned combat systems, and domesticating missile guidance algorithms, is about creating a leverage that allows us to judge and respond independently at decisive moments when national interests are at stake. This goes beyond mere technological achievement; it is a practical strength and alternative that allows us to amplify our voice within the alliance without revealing sensitive aspects of self-reliance.  

An insistence on closed-door localization, believing "we will make everything ourselves," will ultimately lead to technological backwardness and astronomical budget waste, and cannot be sustained for long. The defense industry is now a driver of national growth and a bulwark of survival, beyond mere cost. As the war in Ukraine has proven, domestic technological foundations and production capabilities are key to determining the ability to sustain a war. Ultimately, our self-reliant defense must be a highly engineered security management that overcomes the limitations of low birth rates and manpower shortages with advanced technology, such as AI-based Optionally Manned and Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) systems, and reduces external dependence based on technological hegemony. 

3. Sentimental OPCON Transfer and Self-Reliant Defense Theories Without Capability or Alternatives are Security Suicide

Denying the reality of relying on allies for core assets such as nuclear deterrence and satellite intelligence, and demanding OPCON transfer, will only lead to international isolation and distrust from allies. Even a cub lion becomes prey to hyenas the moment it leaves its mother's side. When we prove our practical capability to protect ourselves and our strategic value as an "irreplaceable partner," the Republic of Korea will gain unshakeable decision-making power in the harsh international order. 

Security sovereignty belongs to those who take responsibility for themselves. Our self-reliant defense is not isolationism that builds closed walls away from the US military. It is only before we are reborn as a "mature sovereign nation" that takes ultimate responsibility for its security, based on the foundation of national pride in preventing war and creating national interests through the ROK-US alliance, while possessing a robust three-axis system and defense industry capabilities, and achieving final security responsibility through independent intelligence assets and advanced technological prowess, that OPCON transfer and self-reliant defense will not be synonymous with precariousness. We urge the security leadership to face the stark reality and awaken. 

◆ Park Pil-gyu, Committee Member

Editor, Hankookilbo

40th graduating class, Korea Military Academy