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Soldiers sweep up trash from North Korean balloons that were floated across the border and into the South that fell in Incheon’s Bupyeong District on July 24. (Yonhap)

Trash balloons launched by North Korea have fallen within the premises of South Korea’s presidential office complex in Yongsan. Although no hazardous materials were found, this is nothing short of a security disaster as the nation’s highest governing institution was directly exposed to a North Korean threat. 

Moreover, this situation is not an accidental or one-time incident, but a structural crisis caused by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s belligerent attitude and lack of crisis management capability. The government should abandon its unnecessary insistence on putting North Korea in its place with loudspeakers and take practical measures to prevent North Korea from launching trash balloons in the future.

The Presidential Security Service stated that while monitoring the trash balloons launched by North Korea in cooperation with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it had identified falling debris in the vicinity of the presidential office, adding, “The objects, according to an investigation by a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense response team, have been confirmed as neither dangerous nor contaminated, and were collected.” 

An official from the presidential office kept comments short, saying that while they “recognize the seriousness and gravity of the situation,” ultimately, “additional response measures will need to be thoroughly reviewed by the relevant agencies.” This suggests that, since it is unclear what substances the balloons contain, the policy of collecting them after they have fallen, rather than forcibly bringing them down, will continue.

This situation concisely illustrates the various problems faced by the Yoon administration, now in its third year. This incident was anticipated when his presidential transition committee announced in March 2022 that the executive office would be moved to Yongsan. At that time, military experts warned that placing the presidential office and other major national government facilities in the middle of an urban area without natural defensive barriers like mountains would make air defense difficult and urged reconsideration. 

However, Yoon did not heed these warnings, and the issues raised then are now becoming a reality. This incident, with trash balloons actually landing within the complex’s premises, comes after the intrusion of North Korean drones into the “no-fly zone” (P-73) around the presidential office in January last year.

Yoon’s belligerent stance is merely exacerbating the situation further. North Korea has repeatedly stated that it is launching trash balloons in response to the launch of anti-North Korea leaflets by defectors in the South. The government, faced with a matter that threatens the security of the citizens of South Korea, should prioritize cracking down on the sending of these leaflets. 

This is not a matter of pride. However, the government has effectively nullified the buffer-creating Sept. 19 inter-Korean military agreement and is moving toward hard-line confrontation by resuming loudspeaker broadcasts directed at the North.

We cannot take this situation lightly. Yoon should apologize to the public and immediately start cracking down on the distribution of anti-North Korea leaflets.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]