OPCON Transfer Should Have Happened a “Long Time Ago” | Eye on Korea Ep. 35

Wartime operational control, or OPCON, should have been transferred from U.S. to South Korean forces. That is the case Ambassador Joseph Yun makes on Eye on Korea—South Korea must take primary responsibility for conventional warfare on the peninsula, and the alliance may be overdue for rebalancing. Ambassador Yun served as acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from January to October 2025, capping a three-decade career in the Department of State that spanned major chapters of the U.S.-South Korea relationship. He joins Eye on Korea for a wide-ranging conversation on OPCON, alliance modernization, the Lee Jae Myung administration, and the future of South Korea as a middle power. We also cover: 🔹 How the alliance is managing the back-to-back transitions from Joe Biden to Donald Trump in Washington and Yoon Suk Yeol to Lee Jae Myung in Seoul 🔹 Why the rule of law and due process are a “key point” of the U.S.-South Korea relationship, embedded in shared democratic values 🔹 Why form and process lead to substance—and how that principle runs through all aspects of alliance management 🔹 The economic dimension of the U.S.-South Korea relationship and why the tariff shock landed less hard in Seoul than elsewhere 🔹 The key differences between the Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae Myung administrations, and the interplay between progressivism and pragmatism 🔹 The factions inside South Korean domestic politics and what they signal for foreign policy 🔹 Why North Korea will not denuclearize, and whether a different approach, such as arms control, is now more fit for purpose 🔹 Optimal balancing between regional players, such as China, for South Korea’s long-term position Ambassador Joseph Yun served as acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from January to October 2025. During his three-decade-plus career at the Department of State, Joe served in Korea-focused roles on multiple occasions, including as U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy during the first Trump administration. He was also U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Compact Negotiations, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, among many other roles. Social Links: Website: https://keia.org/ LinkedIn:   / korea-economic-institute-of-america   Facebook:   / koreaeconinstitute   Instagram:   / koreaeconinst   Twitter/X: https://x.com/koreaeconinst [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.] ________________________________________ Eye on Korea is distributed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 License, which can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... By Republic of Korea - https://www.flickr.com/photos/koreane..., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... By 제주특별자치도청, KOGL Type 1, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... File:Prime Minister of South Korea HAN Duck-soo 20240516.jpg - Wikimedia Commons By 대한민국 국회, KOGL Type 1, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... File:Choi Sang-mok 20240816.jpg - Wikimedia Commons By Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Photographer name), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... File:KOCIS Korea President Park Sejong Econ 03 (11640577615).jpg - Wikimedia Commons By Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... File:Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin (2019-04-25) 07.jpg - Wikimedia Commons By Stefan Krasowski - https://www.flickr.com/photos/rapidtr..., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... By Cabinet Secretariat, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... File:20251101 Sanae Takaichi at the APEC South Korea 2025 (1).jpg - Wikimedia Commons By DoD Photo By Glenn Fawcett - http://www.eucom.mil/photo/24623/u-s-..., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... By U.S. Navy photo by General Dynamics Electric Boat - This image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 040730-N-1234E-002 (next). File:US Navy 040730-N-1234E-002 PCU Virginia (SSN 774) returns to the General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard.jpg - Wikimedia Commons By IAEA Imagebank - Flickr: Yukiya Amano at Barakah NPP construction site (01890203), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... File:Barakah 2013-01-29 1.jpg - Wikimedia Commons