Tag: ROK military

This is what the leftist agitators have caused from their original bogus THAAD protests; now everyone thinks these missile defense radars rain radiation over everyone located near them which is not true. This is like the new fan death myth:

The Air Force launched a surprise operation on Tuesday to install an anti-missile radar on a mountain in the southeastern city of Busan, sparking angry protests from residents concerned about potential health hazards from the radar’s electromagnetic waves.

Police clashed with a group of protesters early Tuesday on Mt. Jang in the city, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, where the Air Force began installing a Green Pine land-based radar at around 6 a.m. Four people were arrested following repeated dispersion orders.

“We condemn the defense ministry for pushing ahead with the radar installation which the residents object to,” a representative of the protesting group said. 

The Air Force did not notify local authorities of the operation in advance in an apparent attempt to avoid obstruction from local resident and activists, who have raised concerns over potentially harmful effects of electromagnetic waves from the radar.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but probably the most offensive thing about the anti-THAAD protesters is that it is based on lies that the electromagnetic waves from the radar are going to cause cancer and kill crops. These Green Pine protesters are falling for the same propaganda.

If the residents want to go measure electromagnetic waves they can do it right now.  They can purchase their own detection device and stand at their homes or farms and see what electromagnetic waves they detect.  They are not going to detect anything though because a group of Korean reporters were invited to a THAAD site and have already measured electromagnetic waves and found nothing.  What is even dumber about this is that South Korea already has for years multiple Green Pine radars installed. It would be very easy to see if people are getting cancer and crops are dying in those locations.

This is simply not in my backyard protests that likely would not be happening if the leftist agitators had not protested and promoted false propaganda about the Korean THAAD site.

It appears those sensitive about being overweight are unhappy with the ROK military for trying to encourage young people to lose weight so they can serve in the military:

The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) has taken flak over a promotional video that critics say disparages those assigned to non-combat duties for their mandatory military service due to health or other reasons.

On Nov. 5, the MMA posted video footage on its YouTube channel in which an active service member on leave talks over a meal with his friends, who haven’t been enlisted yet, about life in the barracks.

The problematic part was about the service member’s physical grade. While all able-bodied men in Korea must serve in the military, only those who receive grades of 1 to 3 in their heath examination serve in the military, while those who receive a grade of 4 are assigned to less physically demanding duties, mostly public service positions at public organizations, and those who get a grade of 5 are exempt from duty.

In the video, the man said that he was initially given a grade of 4, but joined the military after losing weight through an MMA program and improving his grade. The project helps those who receive a grade 4 or 5, due to extreme obesity or other health reasons, to get support from hospitals, fitness clubs or public health centers, to lose weight or improve their condition if they want to serve in combat positions.

The man said, “I applied for the project because I thought it fits well with my character,” and the friend replied, “You can proudly call yourself a man only when you fulfill the military service.”

This video has drawn a barrage of criticism for disparaging people who receive grades of 4 or 5 and take public service positions instead of combat duty.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the ongoing CCPT exercise:

South Korean troops conducting a joint, computer-simulated exercise with their American counterparts were all vaccinated and tested for COVID-19 before training began, a military official said Monday. 

A South Korean Ministry of National Defense official speaking on the customary condition of anonymity told Stars and Stripes that due to service members being in close proximity with each other, “it was very important for all of them to get vaccinated.”

The two countries are conducting a combined command-post training Aug. 16 to 26. Rather than a large-scale field exercise involving thousands of combat troops, this exercise will primarily focus on computer simulations.

U.S. Forces Korea spokesman Col. Lee Peters, citing the command’s policy, did not comment on whether American forces participating in the joint training were all vaccinated. 

However, Peters said USFK “can reassure you that we remain aligned with [the defense ministry] on aggressive COVID mitigation measures including conducting training with minimal essential personnel and in distributed locations.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the most interesting thing I read in the article was that 93% of the 550,000 ROK troops have received the vaccine though it is voluntary.

For anyone complaining about USFK COVID restrictions just be happy you are not in the ROK Military:

The defense ministry extended the toughest social distancing rules for the military for another two weeks Monday to curb a new wave of the pandemic, restricting service members’ vacations and off-installation activities.

The Level 4 scheme, which was supposed to expire Sunday, will be in place until Aug. 8, in line with the government’s COVID-19 guidance, according to the ministry.

Under the new measures, only 10 percent of members of a unit are allowed to go on vacation at the same time. Off-duty travels, staying out overnight and meetings with visitors are banned in principle.

The ministry also ordered military units to cancel or postpone all private meetings, prohibit nonessential events and travel, and conduct religious services online.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The ROK is looking at doing something similar to what U.S. politicians wants to do to the U.S. military.:

Defense Minister Suh Wook called Thursday for reforming the military’s judiciary system to reduce commanders’ influence over the investigation and trial process amid intense criticism the Air Force mishandled a sexual abuse case that led to a noncommissioned officer taking her own life.

The minister made the appeal during a parliamentary session, apologizing again for last month’s death of the master sergeant, surnamed Lee, three months after she was groped and suffered other abuse by a colleague of the same rank. 

The incident sparked public outrage following revelations that the military failed to properly protect the victim despite her repeated calls for help while instead trying to persuade her to reach a settlement with the perpetrator in a suspected attempt to cover up the case.

“In order to restore trust in the military’s judiciary system, we need to reduce commanders’ influence in the criminal procedures and carry out reform tasks as planned to guarantee independence and fairness in the investigation and trial process,” the minister said. 

In 2018, the defense ministry rolled out a series of tasks to reform the military’s judiciary system and proposed a law revision the next year. The bill is now pending at the parliament’s legislation and judiciary committee.

The proposed reform measures include transferring appeals cases to the Seoul High Court and appointing civilian legal experts as military judges to prevent commanders’ influence in trials, according to the ministry.

Yonhap

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.

South Korea might rank higher than North Korea, but South Korea has spread their defense spending to include capabilities not needed to counter North Korea. Meanwhile the Kim regime is focused their military solely on war with South Korea:

South Korea has ranked sixth in global military strength.

According to 2021 list from the U.S. ranking agency Global Firepower, South Korea ranks sixth out of 138 countries, the same as last year, with a PowerIndex score of zero-point-1621.

North Korea dropped three slots from 25th to 28th this year.

The GFP ranking is based on each nation’s potential war-making capability across land, sea and air fought by conventional means. It utilizes over 50 individual factors to determine a PowerIndex score with categories ranging from military might and financials to logistical capability and geography.

KBS World Radio

You can read more at the link.

This seems more like PR than a major policy change:

The military will provide vegetarian and Muslim enlistees with a vegan diet excluding any meat and ham starting next year, the defense ministry said Sunday.

From February, prospective draftees will be asked to mark if they are a vegetarian when they take physical examinations, the ministry said.

Two columns marked as “vegetarian” in both Korean and English will be available on the form.

Such personal information will be sent to the unit that the enlistees will serve in, allowing for a systematic ration program for vegetarian and Muslim soldiers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but currently in the ROK military only two soldiers have identified themselves as Muslim and vegetarian.

Some more changes are coming to the ROK military:

The defense ministry said Wednesday it will complete reducing the mandatory military service period to 18 months by next year as planned as part of a series of reform projects under way to make the military “smaller and stronger.” 

During a meeting on defense reform presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, officials said the military is on course to cut the service period for Army draftees to 18 months by December 2021, according to the ministry. 

All able-bodied South Korean men must carry out compulsory military service for about two years in a country that faces North Korea across a heavily fortified border.

Other reform measures include raising the proportion of female service members and decreasing the number of generals with one to four stars.

The number of female service members stood at 7.4 percent this year, 0.6 percentage point higher than the previous year.

Among 76 general positions subject to reduction, 46 have been cut so far, the ministry said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.