Category: ROK Military

It is not looking good for those brigade commander because he has already admitted to what he complains was consensual sex with the staff sergeant:

The military arrested a brigade commander on Tuesday over allegations that he raped a female subordinate multiple times in his military residence in Gangwon, the latest in a series of sexual abuse cases that have shaken the military since last year.

The Army reported on Tuesday that it had arrested the colonel in Gangwon at around 3 p.m., after collecting testimony he had sexually abused a 21-year-old staff sergeant on several occasions since late last year.

The military said it first found out about the case involving the 47-year-old colonel on Monday. His identity has not been revealed, and the military suspects he sexually assaulted the woman more than once at his military residence. The suspect has reportedly denied the charge, claiming the contact was consensual, while the victim has maintained it was forced.

The brigade commander’s arrest follows the apprehension of a major in the same unit, who stands accused of sexually harassing a female staff sergeant.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if the ROK Army has the same regulations forbidding relationships like the US Army has?

I wonder if there is more to this story that just went down to the bottom of the Han River:

A former Navy rear admiral under investigation over his alleged involvement in a defense industry graft case jumped off a bridge in a Seoul suburb on Wednesday, police said.

The Gyeonggi Goyang Police Station said an unidentified person called at 8:10 a.m. to say the 61-year-old man, identified only by his surname Ham, plunged off the bridge over the Han River that flows through Seoul into the Yellow Sea.

Ham, also a former executive member of a defense firm, was scheduled to face questioning this morning. Prosecutors said they considered him a witness, rather than a suspect.

The details of the case he was involved in were not immediately clear. He was once in charge of the Navy’s shipbuilding division.

“We send our condolences to the bereaved family for this tragedy,” an official investigating the case said, asking not to be named. “Ham never complained about the interrogation process and we’re confident we’ve followed the proper protocol.”

Police said they discovered a car, a suicide note and a pair of shoes near the scene. Professional divers have been deployed to search for the body, they said.

In November, South Korea launched a task force comprised of prosecutors, military officers and government officials to root out corruption in the defense industry.

The move came after an expensive homegrown salvage ship was proved defective at the peak of efforts to save those missing from a ferry disaster last year. The sinking claimed more than 300 lives.  [Yonhap]

Congratulations to Major Lee for the command assignment and I hope she does well:

A female battery commander has been appointed for the first time in Korean air defense history. Maj. Lee Yeong-mi, selected on Jan. 6, will lead the Patriot artillery unit.

Although the Air Defense Artillery School has had a female battery commander in the past, her appointment is unprecedented because as a commander, Major Lee will be in charge of military operations.

Lee grew up in a military family and long dreamed of becoming an officer. As a child, she often listened to the war stories of her grandfather, who fought for the South during the 1950-53 Korean War.

“I wanted to devote myself to my country, following in the footsteps of my grandfather, and protect it,” Lee said.

She ultimately chose to join the Air Force under her family’s influence. Her father, Lee Seong-kyo, was an Air Force aviation maintenance sergeant when he was discharged from the Army, and her younger brother, Lee Jong-jin, is an Air Force master sergeant.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but it wasn’t that long ago that females in the ROK military were the ones fetching the coffee, so this is another example of how quickly things in Korea can change.

South Korea special forces on extreme weather training, in pictures http://t.co/jVxqMKVHyo @KungPaoKimchi @goldmansachs666 God bless them!

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) January 8, 2015

Especially of interest with this missile defense test is that Japanese intelligence may be included as part of the test:

South Korea plans to conduct its first missile defense drill in the first half of next year to test the effectiveness of locally developed defense programs in the face of North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats, a government source said Monday.

South Korea has been developing its own Kill-Chain and Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) systems to better detect and respond to military provocations from the North.

“Military authorities are planning our first independent Korean Peninsula missile defense drill during the first half of next year,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“I understand that the drill is aimed at testing the effectiveness of the KAMD and Kill-Chain systems that have been developed by our military and identifying any flaws.”

The drill is expected to run on the missile defense simulation model developed jointly with the United States, the source added.

The exercise is also likely to use military intelligence provided by Japan under a trilateral pact signed earlier in the day.
(Yonhap)

You can read more at the link.

I did not realize that in Korea that it is actually illegal to give a veteran hiring preference, but this governmental committee is trying to change this in an effort to reform ROK military culture:

A committee meant to reform the military culture recommended that the government give extra points to job applicants who complete military service, a move that could reignite the controversy over the divide between men and women.

The committee recommended that such applicants be given a bonus 2 percent on company examinations, but that only 10 percent of successful applicants at a single company can receive the benefit.

It also said an individual can only receive the benefit five times in his lifetime while those who received heavy punishment for serious wrongdoings will be excluded from the proposed benefits, according to the committee.

“To help encourage draftees to successfully carry out their military duty, the ministry will review the recommendation that calls for giving extra credits to enlistees when they apply for a job,” the defense ministry said.

The move, however, could draw opposition from women, who are not obligated to serve in the military, at a time when the job market remains tight.

In 1999, the Constitutional Court ruled as unconstitutional the law giving males who served in the military an advantage in applying for public service positions, saying it was unfair to women and the disabled.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but if the ROK is serious about changing the military culture then spend the money to professionalize more of the military.

Considering how many more US and Japanese F-35s will be located in Japan it makes sense that the deep maintenance facility would be located there.  Of course the ROKs have to show their displeasure with this:

South Korea said on Thursday it will not send its F-35 fleet to Japan for heavy airframe maintenance, one of the two Asian hubs chosen by the United States to service the Lockheed Martin Corp stealth fighter.

Instead, it is likely to fly the jets to Australia for maintenance, about eight times further away than Japan and well beyond their operating range. The three nations, all key U.S. allies, are the only countries in the region to have ordered the F-35s.

The F-35 program has been lauded as an example of the United States and its allies working together to bolster inter-operability, but in Asia the maintenance plan is bringing traditional rivalry between Seoul and Tokyo to the fore.

The three-star air force general who runs the F-35 program for the United States, Chris Bogdan, told reporters on Wednesday that Japan would handle heavy maintenance for the jets in the northern Pacific from early 2018, with Australia to handle maintenance in the southern Pacific.

“There will never be a case where our fighter jets will be taken to Japan for maintenance,” said an official at South Korea’s arms procurement agency, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

“South Korea has the right to decide where to conduct maintenance for its F-35 jets, and it will decide whenever the need arises.”

The plan at the moment is for the 40 F-35s to be acquired by South Korea to be serviced in Australia, an Australian defense ministry source told Reuters on condition he wasn’t identified.

South Korea will receive the first of the stealth planes in 2018.

A source familiar with the F-35 program said South Korea could, at a later stage, negotiate with Washington on the possibility of handling the heavy maintenance of its own F-35 jets.

Such a deal would require a significant investment by Seoul, including specialized equipment used to test the jets’ stealth. [Reuters]

You can read more at the link, but when the ROKs decided to pursue the F-35 you would think that this was something that was discussed as part of the contract talks; so this should not be too surprising. I would not be surprised that this is just a big media show for domestic consumption now.  2023 is the earliest that the ROK’s F-35 need servicing so a lot can change by then.   So it makes sense that Korean politicians now do not want the headache of being accused of compromising defense of the nation to Japan needlessly and let politicians down the road work something out where these planes are quietly serviced in Japan.

This just goes to show that anyone that had anything remotely to do with what went wrong with the Sewol tragedy is coming under fire:

The state auditor will request the Ministry of National Defense to take disciplinary action against Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Hwang Ki-chul and hold him responsible for a case of defense industry corruption involving a faulty Navy ship, insiders said Tuesday.

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) concluded that Hwang was deeply engaged in the process of selecting a supplier of an outdated sonar system for the first domestic-made rescue and salvage ship, the 3,500-ton Tongyeong, in January 2009. At that time he was serving as head of the department in charge of the vessel project at the military procurement agency.

Launched in September 2012, the ship failed to take part in the rescue operation after the Sewol ferry sank in April because of the malfunctioning sonar system. It sparked a huge controversy over deep-rooted corruption in the nation’s defense industry.

According to the BAI, Hwang pushed for a purchase agreement with the supplier even before the Defense Acquisition Program Administration secured the proper evaluation data. He also gave the company preference by postponing the deadline twice for submitting a plan for the project.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Unsurprisingly more and more Koreans do not believe in the mandatory service required of all males to defend the country:

More parents hope their sons can skip compulsory military service, which they consider a waste of precious years in their young lives.

According to a recent survey, seven out of 10 respondent or 70.2 percent, said they would encourage young men to “tough it out,” but the percentage was much smaller among people under 50.

Some 40.2 percent whose sons are nearing conscription age said they would prefer them to be exempt if possible. The proportion was slightly bigger among mothers than fathers with 42.5 percent as against 37.9 percent.

In a similar survey by a high school in Busan in August, 38.1 percent of respondents said they want to avoid conscription if possible. Only 34.5 percent agreed that military service is inevitable at a time when the nation remains divided, and even fewer or 27.4 percent agreed that it is “natural and honorable” to serve in the military.

That suggests some 70 percent do not see the point.

Asked why they do not look forward to their military service, 39.5 percent cited the hard life in barracks, 32.3 percent violence and bullying, and 28.2 percent said it would be a waste of time.  [Chosun Ilbo]

There has been baby steps in the past to professionalize the ROK Army, but the fact that the ROK government is able to maintain such a large force for little money is going to be hard to change because a professional army is expensive.  Just ask the Pentagon.

Maybe this is just a translation error, but does anyone know how does the ROK Army have 18-year old Staff Sergeants?

A South Korean Army sergeant was arrested Thursday on charges of repeated sexual assaults of an 18-year-old solider, local media reported.

The 26-year-old sergeant first class, identified only as Kim, is accused of having raped his junior colleague, a staff sergeant who is also male, several times since March this year.  [Korea Observer]

You can read more at the link.