Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Strengthening the foundation to push forward the transfer of wartime operational control

based on a firm Republic of Korea – US alliance

Reforming the military judicial system to work for the public

Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo has pledged again that elite army forces will be formed through Defense Reform. He also stressed his intent to reform the military judicial system to work for the public.

On July 20th, Minister Song reiterated his resolve to succeed with ’Defense Reform 2.0,’ saying in his report on military courts before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee that the Republic of Korean military has been pushing forward with changes and innovations, considering this year as the first year of Defense Reform 2.0, in order to embody the goals of 'intelligent security and solid defense.’

Minister Song said, “We will adopt a full military readiness posture to prevent any vacuum in the national security area, regardless of the circumstances, establish the foundation to push forward the transfer of wartime operational control under a firm Republic of Korea-US alliance, and strengthen defense exchange and cooperation with neighboring countries.” He also said that elite army forces will be formed by the establishment of ‘an advanced defense operation system with transparency and efficiency’ and powerful defense reform, stressing that he will make efforts to reform the military judicial system so that it operates fairly and in a way that serves the public.

The ministry introduced its main initiatives to promote, including measures to address the recent controversies related to sexual violence in the military, during its report on that day. In its announcement, the ministry made the following statement: “We will strengthen the sexual violence prevention education to enhance soldiers’ awareness of sex. When an incident of sexual violence occurs, we will handle it promptly in strict fairness, and also will strengthen our systems to protect and support the victim. We will root out sexual violence to contribute to fostering a powerful military force that is trusted by the public.” The ministry also reported on the details and current state of the missions, such as ▲pushing forward the reform of the military judicial system, ▲managing a confidential military court, ▲protecting the human rights of soldiers, ▲improving the disciplinary system, ▲investigating the truth of the May 18 Democratization M ovement, ▲investigating suspicious deaths in the military and pushing forward a system improvement, and ▲measures to eradicate corruption scandals in the defense industry.

By Su-Yeol, Maeng <guns13@dema.mil.kr >
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