Constitutional Court dismisses petition against THAAD deployment

Defense 15:50 May 25, 2023

SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- The Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a petition to outlaw the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in a southeastern county.

The petition was lodged in February last year by a group of 392 people who claimed that some clauses of the South Korean-American mutual defense treaty and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which served as the basis for the installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in Seongju, 214 km southeast of Seoul, in 2017, were unconstitutional.

Constitutional Court justices prepare to begin a sentencing hearing on May 25, 2023, on the constitutionality of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in southeastern South Korea. (Yonhap)

On April 20, 2017, a bilateral SOFA committee approved the THAAD deployment plan on land in Seongju, which was formerly used as a golf course, triggering fierce protests from some local residents and anti-war activists.

Later that year, the protesters filed an administrative suit demanding the foreign minister cancel the land provision for the THAAD base, but the local and appellate courts dismissed it. The Supreme Court has also confirmed the ruling earlier this year, saying the matter cannot be subject to administrative litigation.

The Constitutional Court said the anti-THAAD petition is illegitimate as it lacks the prerequisite for a court trial.