KATUSA Group Demands Apology for Being Called Out for Easy Service

Here is the latest on the ruling party’s attempt to defend the ROK Justice Minister meddling to receive preferential treatment for her KATUSA son:

In particular, DPK spokesman Rep. Park Sung-joon’s remarks, in which he compared Choo’s son to the late independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun, have brought strong criticism from the opposition and the public. (……….)

Citing Choo’s account, Rep. Park said in a statement, Wednesday, “Choo’s son lived up to what independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun said: ‘it is soldiers’ duty to sacrifice themselves for the country.'” (……….)

Seo served as a member of the Korea Augmentation Troops to the United States Army (KATUSA), a position that Rep. Woo Sang-ho was apparently derogatory about in describing the “easy” duty of such soldiers when he tried to defend Choo against the allegations that she used her influence to have him assigned to an “easier” post.

“Serving as a KATUSA is an easy posting itself, so the dispute is meaningless,” Woo said in a media interview, Sept. 9. “Taking leave or not, or having a post or another ― these are meaningless as a KATUSA.”

His remarks led KATUSA reservists calling for an apology.

Korea Times via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but KATUSAs demanding an apology for being called out for easy service is mildly amusing. Truthfully it really depends on what unit they end up in. I have seen some KATUSAs who were worked very hard by their U.S. military leadership while others did very little. Overall though being a KATUSA is better duty than being a draftee in a frontline ROK Army unit.