President Park Geun-hye meets with a South Korean soldier serving in South Sudan on a U.N. peacekeeping mission in a ceremony held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 27, 2016 to boost their morale, in this photo provided by her office. (Yonhap)
I did not realize that serving in a research institute was a way to avoid mandatory military service. This does not seem like a fair alternative to mandatory military service compared to the guys that have to join the ROK military or National Police:
After announcing on Tuesday that military service exemptions for college students of natural sciences and engineering will not extend beyond 2023, the Ministry of National Defense has backpedaled from this decision. Initially, the ministry said that it expects that there will be a shortage of able-bodied Korean men to serve in the military from 2020 and that it will subsequently get rid of the current exemption measure.
The announcement has resulted in an immediate backlash from engineering and natural science students from Kaist, Seoul National University, Postech and other universities as well as from small- and medium-sized companies and agencies that count on the added talent of young men.
But Moon Sang-gyun, spokesman of the Defense Ministry, said in a briefing on Thursday that the plan to get rid of the current exemption measure was one that “has been in under constant review since the early 2000s.”
He added, “The plan is under review in related ministries and agencies, however there has been a misunderstanding that the measure is already confirmed, causing controversy beyond what is needed.”
Under the current exemption measure, individuals who are eligible to be drafted for two-year compulsory military service can instead serve out their term as a conscripted police officer, firefighter, in the coast guard or in another relevant agency, company or research institute. Graduate students in natural sciences or engineering at top schools are in especially high demand at research institutes and small- and medium-sized companies. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
The guy that was jumping around kicking people in the City Hunter drama is some how unfit for military service:
Actor Lee Min-ho has been exempted from active military service required of all able-bodied South Korean men because of his medical history, his talent agency said Thursday.
The 28-year-old will instead work in the public service for about two years, MYM Entertainment said, adding it has not been decided when he will start the service.
The decision was made because he has screws in a leg he broke in a car accident in 2009. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link, but I always have a lot of respect for the actors and other celebrities that complete their mandatory military service.
South Korea’s military is pushing to field some 100 additional units of the locally built K2 Black Panther tanks to strengthen frontline defense against North Korea, a military official said Thursday.
“The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) submitted the request citing the need for 100 or so more K2 tanks in October and the Ministry of National Defense is carrying out a verification of the demand,” the military official said.
K2 is the South Korean Army’s main battle tank (MBT) and has been produced since 2013. The tank developed in the country has been reaching frontline units starting in 2014, with a total of 206 K2 tanks having been deployed or are in the process of being delivered.
The additional production plan, if accepted, would push up the number of the South Korean military’s fleet to more than 300 tanks. The K2s augment the K1 battle tanks that are in widespread service among the country’s military. [Yonhap]
Hopefully this doesn’t turn out to be a major safety issue with the ROK militaries Surion helicopters:
The South Korean military opened an investigation into the indigenously developed military helicopter Surion after some of the fleet had cracked windshields and other cracking problems, the defense procurement agency said Monday.
“Some of the (locally operational) 40 or so Surions have shown problems on their airframes,” Kim Si-cheol, spokesman at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), said in a press briefing earlier in the day.
Currently, the DAPA is consulting the chopper’s producer, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. and other defense procurement bodies on how to resolve the issue, Kim said.
According to DAPA officials, the investigation has shown so far that four Surion choppers had cracks developed in the vibration absorption devices in the left part of their airframes and some other choppers had cracked windshields. [Korea Herald]
This is the down side of free trade deals that Korean businesses are now experiencing which is competition with foreign brands to include in the tobacco industry:
Local tobacco-makers and farmers on Thursday questioned the Defense Ministry’s approval of foreign cigarettes on Korean military bases, saying it hurts national pride.
A welfare committee of the ministry approved the sale of foreign tobacco brands for the first time.
They include Marlboro Gold Original by U.S.-based Philip Morris, and Mevius LSS Wind Blue by Japanese maker JTI, according to Defense Ministry sources.
This will be the first time that foreign cigarettes are being sold at post exchange stores, effectively challenging the monopoly of KT&G. The move comes 10 years after the bidding process was opened up to foreign manufacturers in 2006.
The new brands approved by the ministry also includes Raison French Black and Bohem Cigar Slim Fit Brown by KT&G. [Korea Herald]
It seems to me that the ROK Navy does have a point here because if these protesters were conducting illegal actions that caused cost overruns why should the Korean taxpayer be on the hook for this?:
The South Korean Navy is demanding damages from local groups and residents in Jeju Island for “taxpayer losses” incurred by their opposition to the construction of a new naval base.The groups targeted include the village association of Gangjeong in the city of Seogwipo.“On Mar. 28, we filed a suit with Seoul Central District Court for the exercise of indemnity rights for the Jeju multi-purpose port complex,” the Navy announced in a press release on Mar. 29.“The purpose of this exercise of indemnity rights is to hold those responsible accountable for losses in taxpayer money from among the additional costs of 27.5 billion won (US$23.8 million) incurred due to the [14-month] delay in the port’s construction period owing to illegal obstruction of operations,” it added.
The total compensation claim amounted to 3.4 billion won (US$2.9 million) of the additional costs, with the Gangjeong village association listed among the defendants alongside five groups and 117 residents and activities who took action to oppose the naval base construction.Last year, Samsung C&T demanded 36 billion won (US$31.2 million) in compensation from the Navy for delays in the construction schedule; a figure of 27.5 billion won (US$23.8 million) was finally settled on after mediation by the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board. Mediation is currently under way for Daelim Construction’s claim for 23 billion won (US$19.9 million) in compensation. [Hankyoreh]
Just like in the United States, defense companies often collude with military officers to win contracts and sometimes not in an ethical manner. What I found most interesting about this article is that the ROK developed liquid body armor that was bomb resistant which I have never heard of before:
Body armor and a protective panel that were penetrated by bullets, shown during a Board of Audit and Inspection in Seoul‘s Jongno district, announcing the findings of a review of the Ministry of National Defense, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), and three other institutions for suspected improprieties in the acquisition of body armor and other military support supplies, Mar. 23. (Yonhap News)
Lobbying by a defense company resulted in it being granted general monopoly rights by the Ministry of National Defense on a body armor project worth up to 270 billion won (US$231 million) – even after the ministry had developed its own state-of-the-art body armor at a cost of 2.8 billion won (US$2.4 million).Samyang Chemical, parent group of Samyang Chemtec – which came under fire last year for its production of penetrable body armor – hired 29 reserve soldiers over six years to work as lobbyists for affiliates. Seven were found to be retired generals employed under false pretenses in defiance of ethics regulations against the employment of former senior officials. [Hankyoreh]
You can read much more about this scandal at the link and the long and sometimes unethical ties to the military Samyang Chemical has.
South Korea has set 2016 national budget at 386.7 trillion won, up 3 percent from 375.4 trillion won in 2015. The defense budget was increased by 4 percent to improve the country’s military readiness. [Yonhap]
