Category: ROK Military

Here is an update on the case of the ROK Air Force NCO who committed suicide after what the ROK media is calling sexual harassment by another NCO. However, the fact that she was groped and forced to touch the body parts of the other NCO is by the American definition actually sexual assault. What makes this incident even worse is that her parents said that one of the superiors pushing her to stop her complaint had harassed her as well in the past:

 An Air Force noncommissioned officer, who took her own life after being sexually harassed by a colleague, had suffered similar abuse twice before, a lawyer for her family said Thursday, as two of her superiors were relieved of duties for mishandling the latest case.

Public outrage strengthened amid growing suspicions that her unit attempted to cover up the crime. President Moon Jae-in ordered a thorough investigation and stern punishment of those responsible, saying his heart aches to think of how much despair the victim must have felt.

The two superiors — a warrant officer and a senior master sergeant — were accused of attempting to persuade the victim to reach a settlement with the suspect. One of them was even accused by her family of abusing the victim himself earlier. The suspect in the latest case, surnamed Jang, allegedly groped the victim and forced her to touch his body parts inside a car on their way to the base after a drinking session she was forced to attend in March.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but there is a severe lack of leadership going on with the unit the deceased NCO was in.

Apparently the ROK service member was pressured by colleagues to reach a settlement with her harasser before committing suicide:

An Air Force officer has died in an apparent suicide after being sexually harassed by a colleague, officials said Tuesday.

In March, the female master sergeant stationed in the central city of Seosan was sexually harassed by the man surnamed Jang inside a car on their way back to the base after a private gathering that she was forced to attend, according to the officials.

She then reported the case to the authorities the following day, but the military allegedly failed to take appropriate steps to protect the victim.

Jang, as well as his family members and senior officers, had instead tried to cover up the case and persuade her to drop the complaint, according to the bereaved family members.

After taking two months off, she was transferred to another base by her application, but she was found dead at her residence inside the base late last month.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It does seem like the future of warfare is leaning towards using more unmanned equipment:

“Unmanned” is the latest buzzword among the world’s militaries, and Korean defense companies are wading deep into the race of developing remotely controlled and artificial intelligence-powered weapons both at home and abroad.  
   
With the support of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Hanwha Defense and Hyundai Rotem have developed advanced military hardware, such as optionally manned and unmanned fighting vehicles, to better brace for evolving future battle environments.

Under a rapid acquisition project worth 26 billion won ($22.8 million), DAPA in October decided to buy 12 military items that employ state-of-the-art technologies, such as remote control and autonomous driving powered by artificial intelligence. The agency launched the rapid acquisition project to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies for military purposes. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the debate about women being added to the mandatory service requirement in South Korea:

 South Korea has again been thrown into a debate over whether women should be drafted into the military alongside men, with political and social circles calling for its serious consideration amid chronically low birth rates.

One of the recent triggers was an online petition demanding female conscription on Cheong Wa Dae’s website.

The other was the new book, “Park Yong-jin’s Political Revolution,” published this week by the eponymous lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party (DP). In it, Park, a candidate for the March 2022 presidential election, suggested that the country replace its draft with a volunteer military system and require both women and men to receive basic military training for up to 100 days.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if the new radars really do get fielded in 2027:

South Korea will develop an indigenous long-range radar for air defense in order to replace old ones brought in from abroad, the arms procurement agency said Monday.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed a 46 billion won (US$41 million) deal with LIG Nex1 Co. for the four-year development project with a plan to begin its deployment in 2027, the agency said.

The radar would be capable of monitoring and identifying aircraft inside the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) and sending information to the Air Force’s Master Control and Reporting Center for defense operations.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like South Korea is still working out the kinks with their new type 214 submarine:

A defective inverter module was found to have been the cause of an error message that led to a new 214-class submarine having to be towed in the East Sea earlier this month, Navy officials said Sunday.

The Navy decided to inspect all 214-class submarines to ensure that no such problems would happen again, after finding that a defect was reported in the same part of another submarine of the same type two years ago too, officials said.

The latest incident happened on Jan. 23 when the submarine was in waters off the southeastern port city of Pohang. An error message popped up in the vessel’s propulsion system, and officials decided to get the sub towed by a civilian vessel.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

South Korea might rank higher than North Korea, but South Korea has spread their defense spending to include capabilities not needed to counter North Korea. Meanwhile the Kim regime is focused their military solely on war with South Korea:

South Korea has ranked sixth in global military strength.

According to 2021 list from the U.S. ranking agency Global Firepower, South Korea ranks sixth out of 138 countries, the same as last year, with a PowerIndex score of zero-point-1621.

North Korea dropped three slots from 25th to 28th this year.

The GFP ranking is based on each nation’s potential war-making capability across land, sea and air fought by conventional means. It utilizes over 50 individual factors to determine a PowerIndex score with categories ranging from military might and financials to logistical capability and geography.

KBS World Radio

You can read more at the link.

There is a number of C2, ISR, and missile defense capabilities that the ROK should be pursuing if they really want to take over OPCON from USFK, but instead they want to build an aircraft carrier:

The military has decided to push ahead with its plan to develop an indigenous light aircraft carrier despite questions over its effectiveness. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) decided on the need for the aircraft carrier during a meeting presided over by JCS Chairman Gen. Won In-choul last Wednesday.

The decision came despite the project budget being largely reduced. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) had initially planned to spend 10.1 billion ($9.3 million) won this year for the basic design of the carrier but the Ministry of Economy and Finance reduced the amount to only 100 million won for contracts covering research and holding debates.

The military is planning to establish basic strategies for the development project and complete a feasibility study this year, and begin basic design work next year to finally secure one light aircraft carrier with a 30,000 tons standard displacement and 40,000 tons full-load displacement by 2033. The military is also expected to push ahead with acquiring F-35B stealth fighter jets which can be carried by the vessel.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I believe this has more to do with keeping up with the Japanese than off setting any capability from North Korea.