Kim Jae-joong, a member of boy band JYJ, salutes fans and reporters after being discharged from military service on Dec. 30, 2016, at an Army infantry division in Yongin, south of Seoul. Kim served 21 months in compulsory military duty. (Yonhap)
Fortunately no one was killed by whatever caused this explosion in Ulsan:
This photo taken on Dec. 13, 2016, shows a military base in Ulsan, some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, where an explosion took place at around noon. Authorities are investigating the details of the incident. (Yonhap)
An explosion at a military base in South Korea’s southeastern city Tuesday injured more than 20 soldiers, authorities said.
The blast of unknown cause took place at around 11:50 a.m. at a training camp for reservists in Ulsan, some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the authorities.
The injured soldiers, some of whom were burned, were taken to nearby hospitals. No casualties were reported.
No training took place at the time of the incident, according to authorities. All the injured were soldiers on active duty, mostly in their early 20s. [Yonhap]
This photo from LIG Nex1 on Dec. 2, 2016, shows the “Hyungung,” a man-portable anti-tank system that has gone into production. The company said it signed a 32.7 billion-won (US$27.9 million) deal with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration a day before for initial production of the guided rocket system. (Yonhap)
Gen. Lee Sun-jin (C), chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), walks with other military leaders on the Namhan River in Yeoju, about 100 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Nov. 7, 2016, as the Army’s 30th Mechanized Infantry Division conducts a field maneuver to enhance its combat preparedness against possible North Korean attacks, in this photo released by the JCS. (Yonhap)
U.S. Forces Korea’s top commander Vincent Brooks gives a pep talk to South Korean soldiers in Yeoju, about 100 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Nov. 2, 2016, as he visits a river-crossing drill conducted by the Army’s 8th Division. The maneuver is part of the broader Hoguk combined drill that the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force have carried out since 1996. (Yonhap)
South Korean Army tanks cross a river via a pontoon bridge in Yeoju, about 100 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Nov. 2, 2016, as part of the broader Hoguk combined drill that the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force has carried out since 1996. (Yonhap)
This is a horrible way to commit suicide if in fact that is what happened:
A soldier of the South Korean Army died on Thursday when a grenade exploded during a training exercise in the Demilitarized Zone along the border with the North, military officials said, suspecting that it could be a suicide.
The Army PFC, identified only by his last name Yang, died when a grenade went off at around 2:20 p.m. Approximately 10 soldiers, including Yang, were engaged in a military drill in the DMZ near the border town when it happened, according to the officials.
The exact cause of the explosion has not been determined, but the military officials suspect that Yang might have committed suicide using his own grenade.
A note he allegedly wrote was reported to have been found later which read, “(This) has nothing to do with (his) military unit.” [Yonhap]
It seems for people with religious reasons for not wanting to conduct their mandatory service in the military could be used to do something more productive than sitting in a jail cell with other criminals:
Hopes are fading for an alternative to Korea’s mandatory military service after decades of calls from pacifists and religious groups to spare conscientious objectors the martial ordeal.
Some 6,088 young men chose prison rather than mandatory military service over the decade from 2006 to 2015, over 99 percent on religious grounds, according to Defense Ministry data Thursday. That boils down to 600 a year, or just 0.24 percent of all 250,000 annual conscripts.
They are sentenced to a year and a half in jail and must serve the time alongside ordinary criminals. (……….)
But opponents say that South Korea is uniquely placed because it remains officially at war with North Korea, and there is insufficient public support for an alternative.
In data submitted to the National Assembly early this month, the Defense Ministry said alternative service “can be abused” as a way to evade military service, and there is “not enough consensus” seeing it as anything other than a privilege for followers of “certain religions.” [Chosun Ilbo]
Merchants at the Taewha traditional market in UIsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, clap for soldiers on Oct. 12, 2016, in a gesture to express thanks for their efforts to help them restore their market that was severely damaged by the powerful Typhoon Chaba early in the month. (photo courtesy of army) (Yonhap)
