Category: ROK Military

The ruling party was trying to siphon male voters away from their conservative opposition by promoting the conscription of women into the ROK military. However, due to the sexual assault and follow on suicide of a female ROK Air Force NCO these efforts have been sidelined for now:

The recent debate on mandatory military service for women has all but disappeared, following the suicide of a female Air Force non-commissioned officer last month after her report of a sexual assault was allegedly covered up. 

Critics say the military’s macho hierarchical culture is to blame for this and other ongoing sex crimes, many of which go unreported. 

The decades-long debate on women’s mandatory service had again been brought up by some presidential hopefuls after the April 7 by-elections, in which the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), which took the mayoral seats of the country’s two biggest cities, Seoul and Busan.

After a large percentage of men in their 20s voted for opposition party candidates seemingly being the most dissatisfied with government policies, the two major parties and their presidential hopefuls jumped into a policy competition to appeal to them. Besides improving service conditions for young men during the mandatory military service, and offering them “rewards” for serving, some came up with the idea of conscripting both men and women.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Fortunately the pilot escaped unharmed:

 An Air Force pilot on Tuesday made an emergency exit from his KF-16 fighter jet during a takeoff run after detecting flames and smoke from the engine, forcing the Air Force to suspend all flights for aircraft inspection, officials said.

The fighter jet was moving on the runway to take off from the 20th Fighter Wing in the western city of Seosan at around 2:31 p.m. when the pilot spotted flames and smoke from the engine and ejected, according to the military.

He sustained no injuries, but the aircraft was damaged and is currently on the strip, it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The scandal of a ROK Air Force NCO that committed suicide after being sexually harassed/assaulted has led to the ROK Air Force Chief of Staff to step down:

The top leader of the Air Force said Friday that he will step down from his post over the recent suicide of a female officer who reportedly took her own life due to unresolved sexual harassment by a fellow service member.  
   
General Lee Seong-yong, chief of staff of the Air Force, sent a text message to reporters in the afternoon, saying that he “accepts grave responsibility of the recent situation and has decided to step down as of Friday.”  
   
President Moon Jae-in said Friday that he agrees that Lee will have to step down. The resignation will not be processed immediately in order for Lee to be probed as a member of the military. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is an update on the case of the ROK Air Force NCO who committed suicide after what the ROK media is calling sexual harassment by another NCO. However, the fact that she was groped and forced to touch the body parts of the other NCO is by the American definition actually sexual assault. What makes this incident even worse is that her parents said that one of the superiors pushing her to stop her complaint had harassed her as well in the past:

 An Air Force noncommissioned officer, who took her own life after being sexually harassed by a colleague, had suffered similar abuse twice before, a lawyer for her family said Thursday, as two of her superiors were relieved of duties for mishandling the latest case.

Public outrage strengthened amid growing suspicions that her unit attempted to cover up the crime. President Moon Jae-in ordered a thorough investigation and stern punishment of those responsible, saying his heart aches to think of how much despair the victim must have felt.

The two superiors — a warrant officer and a senior master sergeant — were accused of attempting to persuade the victim to reach a settlement with the suspect. One of them was even accused by her family of abusing the victim himself earlier. The suspect in the latest case, surnamed Jang, allegedly groped the victim and forced her to touch his body parts inside a car on their way to the base after a drinking session she was forced to attend in March.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but there is a severe lack of leadership going on with the unit the deceased NCO was in.

Apparently the ROK service member was pressured by colleagues to reach a settlement with her harasser before committing suicide:

An Air Force officer has died in an apparent suicide after being sexually harassed by a colleague, officials said Tuesday.

In March, the female master sergeant stationed in the central city of Seosan was sexually harassed by the man surnamed Jang inside a car on their way back to the base after a private gathering that she was forced to attend, according to the officials.

She then reported the case to the authorities the following day, but the military allegedly failed to take appropriate steps to protect the victim.

Jang, as well as his family members and senior officers, had instead tried to cover up the case and persuade her to drop the complaint, according to the bereaved family members.

After taking two months off, she was transferred to another base by her application, but she was found dead at her residence inside the base late last month.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It does seem like the future of warfare is leaning towards using more unmanned equipment:

“Unmanned” is the latest buzzword among the world’s militaries, and Korean defense companies are wading deep into the race of developing remotely controlled and artificial intelligence-powered weapons both at home and abroad.  
   
With the support of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Hanwha Defense and Hyundai Rotem have developed advanced military hardware, such as optionally manned and unmanned fighting vehicles, to better brace for evolving future battle environments.

Under a rapid acquisition project worth 26 billion won ($22.8 million), DAPA in October decided to buy 12 military items that employ state-of-the-art technologies, such as remote control and autonomous driving powered by artificial intelligence. The agency launched the rapid acquisition project to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies for military purposes. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the debate about women being added to the mandatory service requirement in South Korea:

 South Korea has again been thrown into a debate over whether women should be drafted into the military alongside men, with political and social circles calling for its serious consideration amid chronically low birth rates.

One of the recent triggers was an online petition demanding female conscription on Cheong Wa Dae’s website.

The other was the new book, “Park Yong-jin’s Political Revolution,” published this week by the eponymous lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party (DP). In it, Park, a candidate for the March 2022 presidential election, suggested that the country replace its draft with a volunteer military system and require both women and men to receive basic military training for up to 100 days.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if the new radars really do get fielded in 2027:

South Korea will develop an indigenous long-range radar for air defense in order to replace old ones brought in from abroad, the arms procurement agency said Monday.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed a 46 billion won (US$41 million) deal with LIG Nex1 Co. for the four-year development project with a plan to begin its deployment in 2027, the agency said.

The radar would be capable of monitoring and identifying aircraft inside the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) and sending information to the Air Force’s Master Control and Reporting Center for defense operations.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.