Tag: ROK Army

The personnel involved with catching the North Korean man who crossed the DMZ must have been really executing their responsibilities well to receive such recognition:

Two of the 10 South Korean soldiers who helped secure a North Korean man inside the Demilitarized Zone earlier this month were granted 30 days of leave, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. All 10 troops will receive commendations for their actions on July 3, when a North Korean man crossed the midwestern section of the heavily fortified border dividing the Korean Peninsula, a Joint Chiefs spokeswoman said by phone Thursday.

The group included two conscripts, who received the additional leave, and eight officers and noncommissioned officers, she said. South Korean forces deployed to interdict the man, who identified himself as a civilian, the South’s military said at the time. He was removed from the DMZ and remains under investigation.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

When the martial law decree happened I said it was foolish of Yoon to think that ROK Soldiers would want to be involved in anything that could devolve into a modern day Gwangju Uprising like event. That is exactly what happened as Soldiers went and ate ramen noodles at local convenience stores instead of following orders. Who would imagine that going to eat ramen noodles could lead to a promotion for them:

South Korean soldiers who refused to obey unlawful orders during former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law attempt last year could receive early promotions, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The military last week launched a closer look at the actions of soldiers on duty after Yoon’s short-lived martial law decree late Dec. 3 and early Dec. 4, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Friday at a news conference in Seoul.

Roughly 200 soldiers — many of them from special forces units — were deployed to the National Assembly building in the capital after Yoon’s edict that night. Some troops blocked the building’s entrance as lawmakers attempted to convene and vote to overturn Yoon’s order. Yoon, who faces trial on charges of insurrection and abuse of authority, has denied deploying troops to prevent lawmakers from reversing the martial law. His attorneys have said the troops were deployed as a precautionary measure and to instill order. Service members who are found to have “performed their duties as soldiers” without following “improper orders” could receive commendations, the spokesman said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Another major accident from the ROK military that fortunately did not have anyone killed or injured:

An Army surveillance drone collided with a helicopter parked at an airfield just north of Seoul on Monday, but no casualties were reported, the Army said.

The collision took place as the Israeli-made Heron drone was attempting to land at the Army base in Yangju at about 1 p.m., sparking a fire that was extinguished in about 20 minutes, according to the Army.

No one was injured, but the drone and the helicopter, a Surion built by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., were completely destroyed by the fire, an Army official said.

The military has launched an investigation into the exact cause of the accident.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Another ROK Army senior leader has now been arrested:

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who served as the chief commander during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived imposition of martial law, was arrested Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Park was arrested with a court-issued warrant on charges of playing a key role in an insurrection and abuse of power.

Park became the fifth key figure who was arrested over Yoon’s Dec. 3 failed bid to impose martial law. 

So far, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, head of the Army Special Warfare Command, and Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo, head of the Capital Defense Command, have been arrested.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I have said this before, but it was foolish of President Yoon to think Soldiers in the modern day ROK Army would want anything to do with being part of a Gwangju Uprising like event. This just shows what a disconnect the elites in the ROK government have with their rank and file Soldiers if they thought they would follow these martial law orders:

The actions of military officers who resisted what they viewed as unconstitutional orders during the chaos of the Dec. 3 martial law declaration are drawing renewed attention, highlighting how many, despite their duty to obey, took a stand against unjust commands.

Rep. Lee Gi-heon of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea said in a press release on Dec. 9 that “on the night of Dec. 3, when President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, there were counterintelligence officers and personnel who resisted the orders in various ways.”

He cited cases brought to his attention. The military counterintelligence command had been designated as a key unit to be deployed to the National Election Commission (NEC) under martial law.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has said the decision to deploy martial law troops to the National Election Commission was made “to assess the need for investigations into alleged fraud in the general election” in which opposition parties scored landslide wins over the ruling People Power Party.

The soldiers of the key investigative unit exhibited passive behavior before, during, and after their deployment to the NEC.

Kim Dae-woo, the commander of the Counterintelligence Command, is said to have summoned over 100 investigators prior to the declaration of martial law to assign tasks related to entering the commission.

When Major Choi expressed disbelief at the orders, Kim allegedly beat him severely, forced him onto a bus, and sent him to the commission, instructing him to secure the servers.

Despite the coercion, soldiers continued their resistance. Upon arriving at the NEC, they delayed executing the orders, which they believed were illegal, by engaging in trivial activities, such as eating instant noodles at a nearby convenience store.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but that must have been quite the site for the convenience store worker to see all these heavily armed Soldiers come in late at night and eat noodles.