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Two former defense ministers to face indictment over abandoning DMZ guard posts in 2018

Published: 24 Apr. 2025, 12:57

A North Korean guard post is seen being demolished in the central stretch of the inter-Korean frontier on Nov. 20, 2018. The Board of Audit and Inspection concluded on April 24, 2025, that South Korea’s military conducted an inadequate verification of the demolition. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]

South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) referred six individuals, including former defense ministers Jeong Kyeong-doo and Suh Wook, to the prosecution last month over their roles in the withdrawal of guard posts (GP) from the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in 2018, the agency announced Thursday.

The BAI cited allegations of abuse of power and the drafting of false official documents.

The GP withdrawal was part of the Sept. 19 Comprehensive Military Agreement, an annex to the Pyongyang Joint Declaration signed by then-President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018.

According to the BAI, the South Korean military failed to properly verify the demolition of North Korean GPs and drafted documents claiming the dismantling had been completed despite knowing key structures remained intact.

The audit revealed that military officials sent a document containing false information to the United Nations Command (UNC), which oversees the DMZ.

The document claimed the withdrawal of South Korean GPs would not affect surveillance capabilities, contradicting internal reports. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) had raised concerns that North Korea retained twice as many GPs as South Korea and that the withdrawal would weaken South Korea’s defense posture.

The UNC, led by the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, was not informed of these internal objections. The BAI suspects that the Moon administration misled a key ally in its efforts to uphold the inter-Korean agreement.

A guard post in Goseong, Gangwon, preserved in its original form for its historical significance, is pictured in this photo taken on Feb. 13, 2019. The post was one of several positions abandoned in the demilitarized zone as part of the Sept. 19 inter-Korean military agreement signed in 2018 [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

As part of the 2018 agreement, both Koreas agreed to demolish all GPs within the DMZ. In a pilot move that November, the South destroyed 11 GPs and the North 10. The two sides conducted a joint on-site inspection on Dec. 12, the only such session held.

A JCS verification report, declassified and released to the media by the Ministry of National Defense in October last year, showed that South Korean inspectors could not confirm the complete demolition of any underground facilities in the North’s GPs. The report noted limited visibility of demolition traces and stated that North Korea appeared evasive when questioned about suspicious structures.

Despite the report’s reservations, the defense ministry and JCS announced in a press briefing on Dec. 17, 2018, that North Korea’s GPs had been rendered inoperable. The BAI concluded that this statement also ignored field-level assessments and was effectively misleading.

Concerns over the adequacy of the 2018 verification process resurfaced last November after North Korea declared the Sept. 19 agreement void and reoccupied its previously dismantled GPs with troops and heavy weapons. It also rebuilt wooden guard posts with concrete structures, raising suspicions that underground facilities had never been entirely destroyed.

The Korea Retired Generals and Admirals Association filed a public audit request in January last year. The BAI launched an investigation in March 2024.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK TAE-IN [[email protected]]