SEOUL - Residents living near a site where the previous South Korean government had sought to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, hailed the ruling Minjoo Party's push for a parliamentary hearing and ratification of THAAD.

"We welcome the party's push for a parliamentary hearing. We demanded the Minjoo Party's such activity to stop the THAAD installation even before the presidential election," Park Soo-kyu, a Seongju resident, said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, three lawmakers of the Minjoo Party's special committee on THAAD told a news conference in the National Assembly building that they will proceed with the hearings to resolve suspicions over the legitimacy, the illegal transportation and the cost payment surrounding the US missile shield installation.