![[2025 GDAMS] Presidential candidates must present plans for building peace through dialogue and trust, not military expansion](https://ipb.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Website-poster-20.png)
South Korean Civil Society Joint Statement
Presidential candidates must present plans for building peace through dialogue and trust, not military expansion
- Yoon Suk-yeol has been impeached. Throughout his term, Yoon — who advocated for “peace through strength” and designated Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as the “main enemy” — exploited the division system and heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula for political gain, even at the risk of a localized conflict. Despite insufficient tax revenues, he increased defense spending and fixated on an endless cycle of confrontation. Meanwhile, peace vanished entirely, and the two Koreas spiraled into repeated cycles of hostility and standoffs. All dialogue channels were severed, and even the September 19 Military Agreement-which served as a safety pin to prevent armed clashes-was scrapped. Repeated psychological warfare and military drills near the border have severely endangered the peaceful survival rights of residents in those areas. Yoon Suk-yeol’s “peace through strength” policy has utterly failed.