Category: ROK Military

The ROK military has now been locked down on post to help stop the spread of the coronavirus in South Korea:

The military decided to temporarily ban all troops from vacationing and taking off-installation trips after cluster infections were reported at an Army boot camp amid a nationwide spike in virus cases, the defense ministry said Thursday.

Until Dec. 7, all troops will be subject to tightened social distancing rules in barracks, with vacationing and off-installation visits to be suspended starting Friday, according to the ministry. 

Officers are restricted from having private meetings, while in-person religious gatherings and business trips are also banned. 

“Troops who violate the rules, resulting in a COVID-19 infection or its spread to others will be strongly reprimanded,” the ministry said in a release. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

In a South Korean Army barracks environment a massive spread event like this is likely if just one person gets sick considering how close the soldiers sleep to one another in open bays:

Sixty newly enlisted soldiers tested positive for the new coronavirus at an Army boot camp in the central border town of Yeoncheon on Wednesday, the defense ministry said.

They underwent virus tests after one of their colleagues showed symptoms and tested positive earlier in the day, even though he tested negative in an initial test taken upon his entrance into the camp, according to the ministry. 

They all joined the military on Nov. 10. 

The figure is feared to grow, as the authorities are conducting tests for around 860 new enlistees.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like BTS will eventually do their mandatory military service, but it may be deferred for a while according to the ROK Defense Chief:

The defense ministry is not considering granting South Korean K-pop boy band BTS an exemption of mandatory military service, but a deferral could be an option, Defense Minister Suh Wook said Wednesday. 

“Various social consensus should be formed, but at this stage, we are not considering an exception to the military duties,” Suh told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit. 

His remark came amid a growing debate over whether the seven-member group, with an unprecedented Billboard-topping hit, should warrant such special treatment for their worldwide achievements.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is a much needed system to protect the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area from North Korea’s long range artillery:

South Korea will begin developing its own interceptor system like Israel’s Iron Dome in the next five years to defend the country’s core infrastructure in the capital area against North Korea’s long-range artillery threats, the defense ministry said Monday. 

Unveiling its defense blueprint for 2021-2025, the ministry also said it will officially begin procedures to acquire a light aircraft carrier next year and start the production of a homegrown fighter jet which is currently under development.

The defense program calls for spending 300.7 trillion won (US$253 billion), a 6.1 percent on-year hike on average over the next five years. Of the total, 100 trillion won was allocated for improving defense capabilities, while the remaining 200 trillion won was set for force management.

“When we talk about South Korea’s missile defense system, it usually refers to one targeting North Korea’s Scud-type or stronger missiles, whereas this new interceptor system will focus on protecting the capital area against the North’s long-range artillery such as its 240-mm or 300-mm multiple rocket launchers,” a ministry official said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this domestically produced system will not be available until the late 2020’s or into the 2030’s. It seems with a vulnerability as bad as this one the ROK should just purchase the Iron Dome system from Israel.

Does any ROK Heads have any good names for this new ROK fighter jet?:

The Air Force has launched a naming contest for the country’s next-generation fighter jet under development, officials said Friday.

South Korea is building the first prototype jet for the KF-X project after its design was confirmed last year, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

Through Oct. 30, South Koreans can submit suggestions for the new fighter with an explanation on how they represent the new jet’s mission. 

The winner will be given a model aircraft with an award from the Air Force chief of staff, officials said. 

Under the KF-X project worth 8.8 trillion won (US$7.5 billion), South Korea has been working since late 2015 to develop a homegrown cutting-edge fighter aircraft to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 jets.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like President Moon is cycling the Defense Minister position among all the military services:

President Moon Jae-in has nominated Army Chief of Staff Gen. Suh Wook as new defense minister, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday.

If appointed after a National Assembly confirmation hearing, Suh would replace Jeong Kyeong-doo. If so, he would become the first defense chief with an Army background under the Moon administration.

Moon’s first defense minister was a retired Navy admiral, Song Young-moo, and Jeong is a former fighter pilot who served as Air Force chief.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

SpaceX has just put up South Korea’s first military communications satellite:

South Korea’s first military communications satellite was launched into space Monday, Seoul’s arms procurement agency said, making the country the world’s 10th to own a communications satellite for military purposes only.

The Anasis-II satellite lifted off atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket manufactured by U.S commercial space firm SpaceX from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:30 p.m. (U.S. time), according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This has been a long time coming:

 South Korea on Tuesday began accepting applications from men who want to substitute mandatory military service for other public services due to religious or personal beliefs, the military manpower agency said. 

By law, all able-bodied South Korean men must carry out military service for about two years in a country that faces North Korea across one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders. Violators are punished with prison terms.

In December, the National Assembly passed a bill allowing “conscientious objectors” to do 36 months of alternative service at local correctional facilities, instead of joining the military.

Last week, a 29-member committee — comprising lawyers, professors, activists and other experts from various fields — was launched to review the applications.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I have always felt there is more productive things that can be done with consciouses objectors than putting them in jail. It is good to see this now happening.

Life for this ROK Army Staff Sergeant must really suck, not only is he infected with COVID-19, but he has been outed as being gay, subject of derision across Korea for creating this cluster infection, and will likely get smash by ROK military justice for breaking an order:

South Korea’s military on Wednesday reported three more COVID-19 infections linked to a cluster that emerged in Seoul’s Itaewon district recently, bringing the tally to 11. The three soldiers apparently contracted the coronavirus from a staff sergeant at the Cyber Command in central Seoul.

Of all the cases uncovered so far, four soldiers and five officers worked at the Cyber Command, and the other two officers were stationed at an Army base in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

The staff sergeant at the Cyber Command initially tested positive Friday after having visited a club in Itaewon on May 2 in violation of rules the military had imposed to cut risks. 

The sergeant is believed to be responsible for all the infections linked to Itaewon at the Cyber Command. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but let this be a warning to everyone in USFK thinking about going out to any bars or clubs. Could you imagine the negative media if a U.S. soldier caused a massive cluster infection like this?