Tag: ROK Army

A soldier is pushed out of a trench by members of the opposing team at a guerrilla training facility in the city of Sejong, central South Korea, on Sept. 21, 2017, as they train to build their physical strength. (Yonhap)

This photo provided by South Korea’s Navy First Fleet shows soldiers deploying mobile guided missile launchers in Gangwon Province’s Donghae on the east coast on Aug. 25, 2017, as part of the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian war games. (Yonhap) (

Here is news of a tragic training accident that occurred up in Choerwon:

One Army soldier was killed and six others were injured Friday in an explosion during an artillery firing drill, the military said.

The blast occurred on the shooting range of a front-line Army unit in Cheorwon, some 88 kilometers north of Seoul, at 3:19 p.m., according to an Army officer.

Seven servicemen were rushed to a hospital and one of them, a 27-year-old sergeant first class, died during the transport, the officer said.

“An unidentified explosion took place during the drill, injuring some people,” he said. A probe into the cause of the incident is underway, he added.

Flames erupted from inside one of the 10 K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers during the training session, injuring the seven soldiers attending it, according to the officer.  [Yonhap]

So far these are all just allegations, but it seems like the knives are out to make General Park an example of due to the current public backlash against him.  I guess we will see what happens:

A four-star South Korean general and his wife have been accused of treating soldiers like “slaves,” prompting calls for measures to improve conditions for the nation’s conscripts.

Soldiers serving at Gen. Park Chan-ju’s official residence were ordered to remain on-call around the clock and wear electronic bracelets that vibrated whenever family members called on them, the defense ministry said.

They also had to pick up golf balls, take care of gardening, do laundry and chauffeur the couple’s children in a private car, the ministry said, adding it is still investigating other allegations.

Park’s wife also has been accused of treating the soldiers as though she was their commander and subjecting them to verbal and physical abuse.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

A group of high school girls wears gas masks in a career exploration activity at the Korea Armed Forces Nursing Academy in Daejeon, 164 km south of Seoul, on Aug. 3, 2017. (Yonhap)

I don’t know the details for each case so maybe it is bullying, but I have to wonder how much of this bullying is actually strict military discipline being put on mandatory service draftees that are not used to such discipline?:

The recent suicide of a conscript in 22 Infantry Division has again put the spotlight on the division’s cycle of suicides because of alleged bullying.

The private first class jumped to his death on July 19 during a visit to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital.

In a suicide note, he said that every moment of his life had been agony. He apologized to his mother for his actions.

There has been a public outcry since Military Human Rights Korea (MHRK) claimed that the infantry division knew about the bullying, but did little to stop the soldier from killing himself.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Army soldiers use landmine detectors to search bushes along the Imjin River that runs across the inter-Korean border in the South Korean border town of Paju on July 20, 2017, for wood-box landmines that may have floated down from North Korea. The box mines are frequently found near the inter-Korean border area after summer floods cause them to wash down from North Korea. (Yonhap)

Here is the US and ROK’s response to the recent ICBM test conducted by North Korea:

South Korea and the United States fired ballistic missiles in a joint drill aimed at striking the North Korean leadership, Wednesday.

The live-fire exercise was an armed reaction to the North’s purported successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) conducted Tuesday.

President Moon Jae-in issued the missile firing order after getting consent from U.S. President Donald Trump, Cheong Wa Dae said.

This marked the first time for the allies to conduct a ballistic missile drill in response to the North’s missile threats, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said in a National Assembly session.

Issuing the order, Moon said the allies needed to demonstrate their joint defense posture “with action not just words,” according to chief press secretary, Yoon Young-chan.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Seoul and Washington fired their Hyunmoo-2A and the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) ballistic missiles, respectively, into the East Sea at 7 a.m.

Both the Hyunmoo-2A and ATACMS are surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 300 kilometers.

Trump backed Moon’s order, saying he respects Moon’s willingness to deter the North’s provocation with action, Yoon said.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link as well as view video footage of the fire power demonstration below:

If you ever wondered how much a South Korean conscript to include the KATUSA soldiers assigned to US military units make, the answer is not much:

Conscript soldiers’ pay will increase in 2018 to 30 percent of this year’s minimum wage of an annual 1,352,230 won ($1,189.8). This means all draftees will receive 405,669 won, almost double the current 216,000 won. The announcement was made Monday at a regular press briefing by the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, President Moon Jae-in’s de facto power transition team.

Pay will be incrementally increased to 40 percent of the minimum wage by 2020, and reach 50 percent by 2022, equivalent to 540,892 won and 676,115 won, respectively.

The move is part of “fulfilling (Moon’s) national defense plan to increase soldiers’ pay,” committee spokesman Park Kwong-on said. President Moon had vowed better treatment for conscripted soldiers ― all able-bodied Korean men aged between 18 and 35 must serve in the military for up to 21 months.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but diving $1,189 annual salary by 12 months means the ROK conscripts are making roughly $99 a month.  The cost savings from mandatory service is why the ROK military will never become a volunteer only military.

The deputy commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division has his game face on as he receives an award from the 2ID commander Major General Martin:

A Korean two-star general has received a U.S. military award for his contribution to the ROK-U.S. Combined Division.

According to the Army, Thursday, Maj. Gen. Yin Sung-hwan, the commander of the 56th Infantry Division, got the Legion of Merit ― a decoration issued to members of the U.S. Armed Forces as well as to military personnel of foreign nations.

The Combined Division, comprised of the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID) of the Eighth U.S. Army and the 16th Brigade from the ROK Army, was established in 2015 to effectively contain North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction. Yin served as the deputy commander for one year. The division is headed by the 2ID commander.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.