Category: ROK Military

It seems the judge found middle ground here because the officer was convicted of the crime of sodomy, but he did not sentence him to jail since it was suspended for one year.  So basically the officer has to stay out of trouble for one year to avoid going to jail.  What I am wondering and the article does not clarify was if he was having a relationship with one of his subordinates?  Whether you are gay or straight this is something that should not be going on in the military:

South Korea’s military court sentenced an Army captain to six months in prison, suspended for a year, Wednesday on charges of having sex with a fellow male soldier, a civic group said.

The captain, whose identity was withheld, was convicted for violating the Military Criminal Act, according to the Center for Military Human Rights Korea. Under the law, a soldier who commits “sodomy” or “other disgraceful conduct” can face up to two years in prison.

“It is a bizarre clause that only has a perpetrator, without a victim,” the group said in a press release, adding the captain had sexual intercourse at a private place under consent.

The defendant, however, will not appeal the ruling, according to an official at the group.

“The captain was fulfilling his military duty and was originally scheduled to be discharged in April,” the official said. “If he appeals the ruling he will have to stay in the military without knowing when the legal battle will be finished.”

The captain collapsed after the ruling was delivered and was transferred to a nearby hospital but is known to have left the hospital in stable condition, according to the official.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

A South Korean Army artillery unit fires a K-55 self-propelled howitzer during a live-fire drill at a training range in the South Korean border city of Paju, north of Seoul, on May 22, 2017, one day after North Korea test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile the previous day. (Yonhap) (

South Korea continues to beef up its missile defense capabilities in an effort to keep pace with the North Korean ballistic missile threat:

South Korea said Tuesday it has decided to purchase two advanced early warning radars on incoming ballistic missiles as North Korea’s threats have grown.

The plan was approved at a regular meeting on arms procurement projects presided over by Defense Minister Han Min-koo, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Agency (DAPA).

It plans to import the radars in the project starting within this year.

The South Korean military has two Israel-made Green Pine land-based radars in operation. It is seeking to acquire radars with the maximum range of more than 800 kilometers to better detect ballistic missiles fired by the North.

Initially, the defense authorities earmarked budget for the purchase of one more radar. But they have revised a mid-term defense plan to buy two more.

South Korea is in the process of establishing the so-called Korea Air and Missile Defense system.  [Yonhap]

Here is the latest scandal that the ROK military is responding to:

The South Korean military is currently accused of systematically tracking down homosexual soldiers.

According to the Military Human Rights Center for Korea (MHRCK), Jang Jun-kyu, Chief of Staff for the South Korean army, had ordered a probe to track down gay men in the military (not just the army). The MHRCK claims that Jang and the army’s central cyber investigation team conducted a secret nationwide investigation in February and March, monitoring soldiers through phone-tapping, monitoring gay-dating apps, and conducting one-on-one investigations.

According to the MHRCK, the army’s alleged attempt to establish a “gay blacklist,” as the scandal is being dubbed by some local media, began after a video surfaced online sometime earlier this year. In the video, which is no longer available to the public, a male soldier is having sexual intercourse with another male officer.  [Korea Expose]

You can read the rest at the link, but the MHRCK are now calling for the head of the ROK Army to resign for launching the probe:

South Korea’s army chief is facing calls to resign amid claims he ordered a nationwide probe to root out and prosecute gay personnel.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article.  According to campaign group the Military Human Rights Center for Korea, General Jang Jun-kyu, army chief of staff, launched a “track-down process” that pinpointed about 50 soldiers, 20 of whom now face charges under military anti-homosexuality laws.  [Financial Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but if General Jang was enforcing ROK Army policy I don’t see any way he resigns.  If someone does not like the policy then campaign to get it changed instead of trying to get someone to resign who is enforcing it.

The South Koreans are signaling back to the Kim regime that they to have advanced missiles that can target all of North Korea:

South Korea has successfully test-launched a new 800-kilometer missile that can reach anywhere in North Korea, defense sources said Thursday.

It could send another strong warning message to North Korea which is continuing its nuclear and missile development prohibited by the international community, they said.

“There was a test firing recently of a Hyunmoo-type ballistic missile with a range of 800km at the Anheung test site of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) under the wing of the Defense Ministry,” an informed source said. “It’s assessed that it was successful.”

Defense Minister Han Min-koo inspected the test, in which the missile met the key requirements of normal blast, flight and the accuracy of hitting a target, added the source.  [Yonhap]

This is a South Korean-made high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle, which has been undergoing tests in South Korean military units since January. The South Korean version of the U.S. heavy vehicle manufacturer AM General’s Humvee is scheduled to be mass-produced from the latter half of this year. (Photo courtesy of Defense Acquisition Program Administration) (Yonhap)

Here is an article that explains a challenge that all male Korean college students have to deal with, when to do your mandatory service:

Mr. Oh, a 24-year-old college student, wanted to serve his mandatory military service sometime between January and March of 2013. Aware that he would have to return to school upon his completion of duty, he wanted to hit the books straight away, making no time for staying idle.

In Korea’s current draft system, Oh needed to be wise about which month he starts and ends his service. In the best-case scenario, he could return to school right after getting discharged from the military. In the worst-case scenario, he would have to wait for an entire semester.

In the end, it didn’t work out for Oh. The competition was high. Way too many men had the same thoughts as him and the lucky-draw didn’t play out to his advantage.

Oh eventually began in June 2013, one of the least-expected – and most unpopular – month of the entire year.

He was discharged in March 2015, after the spring semester began.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but this is just another example of why I have a lot of respect for the Koreans that complete their mandatory military service.

Oops!:

A Korean navy’s P-3CK, a maritime patrol aircraft, accidentally dropped weapons into the East Sea on Sunday.

The accident happened around 6:10 a.m. during a patrol off the coast of Yangyang county, Gangwon Province, when a co-pilot accidentally pressed the emergency weapons release switch.

“One of the plane’s crew mistakenly touched the emergency weapons release switch instead of a buoy that detects submarine sound waves,” said a navy official. “The weapons were not armed and did not explode.”

The missing weapons include two harpoon missiles, two torpedoes and two depth charges and are worth about 4 billion won ($3.3 million).

The navy has sent a mine sweeper and salvage ship to salvage the weapons if possible. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but I am surprised it is that easy to drop live missiles by pressing the wrong switch like this.  You would think there would be some kind of safety mechanism over the switch.

South Korea's Air Force taps 3 female pilots as vice squadron leaders https://t.co/aj4efVZ67w pic.twitter.com/C2OL8aCr37

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) January 3, 2017

According to the article the ROK has bought these missiles for the explicit purpose of targeting North Korean regime leadership:

South Korea is a step closer to being the first Asian country to deploy air-to-surface missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers.

The Air Force said Monday some 40 German-made Taurus missiles have arrived in South Korea and are being inspected at the K2 Air Base in Daegu.

Once they pass inspections, the missiles are set to be deployed on F-15K fighter jets within the year.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link.