Communication for democracy, please

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) anti-missile system will be deployed in South Korea. Many questions have yet to be answered regarding the deployment of the system, but the absence of communication between the government and citizens has made the dispute more troublesome.

In democracy, power is supposed to reside with people, and theoretically, we give government power through election. In doing so, we should always keep in mind that power is one thing, politics quite another.

Since democracy is not solely a domestic issue — and it favors a government which cooperates internationally — we should be able to ask those questions not only to our own government, but also to those of others.

Thaad is a U.S. Army missile system designed to shoot down short and medium range ballistic missiles. The governments of the United States and South Korea see Thaad deployment as an apparatus securing peace, while China and Russia see it as a threat to the current balance of power.

The United States has a strong interest in ensuring democracy on the Korean peninsula. In case of war, Thaad would help protect U.S. troops serving on the peninsula. On the other hand, as the X-Band raider, a part of the Thaad system, covers not only North Korea but also China, Beijing is deeply concerned.

We need to talk. Democracy on this peninsula has not been awake from a nap after such hard work and heartless competition. But the power belongs to citizens. Regardless of the recent decision made on Thaad, Korea is still run by democracy. We must communicate with and within the government.

Jaesik(Jay) Choi, Student at University of Wisconsin-Madison