Seoul: The main opposition party leader on Friday claimed that the public is concerned about President Lee Jae Myung's "hasty" push to retake wartime operational control (OPCON) of troops from Washington, calling for adjustments in his security policy.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), expressed his concerns at a press conference organized by the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club. He stated that "President Lee calls the U.S. Force Korea (USFK) a foreign military and is pushing for OPCON transition in a hasty manner," emphasizing that many South Koreans are worried that this policy direction may imply a potential withdrawal of the USFK.

Jang's remarks came amid government efforts to achieve a "conditions-based" handover of OPCON from Washington to Seoul before the end of President Lee's five-year term in 2030. The wartime command authority, transferred to the U.S. during the 1950-53 Korean War, remains with Washington, with only peacetime control returned to Seoul in 1994.

In 2006, a deal was struck between then-liberal President Roh Moo-hyun and the United States to transfer OPCON back to South Korea by April 2012. However, this transfer was postponed to December 2015 under the subsequent Lee Myung-bak administration. The Park Geun-hye administration later agreed with Washington to postpone it indefinitely until conditions are met.

President Lee has recently underscored the military's expanded self-reliant defense capability, committing to increasing defense spending to bolster the country's independent defense power. Last month, USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson informed Congress that both countries aim to meet the required conditions for the transfer by the first quarter of 2029.

The opposition leader also criticized the government's North Korea policy, suggesting it aligns with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's stance on inter-Korean relations as between two hostile nations. Jang asserted that under South Korea's Constitution, the land north of the Military Demarcation Line is South Korean territory and that North Korea cannot be recognized as a sovereign nation, urging for "swift adjustments" in national security policy. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at a year-end party meeting in December 2023, labeled inter-Korean relations as hostile and has continued to adopt antagonistic policies toward Seoul.