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| Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo speaks at the National Assembly National Defense Committee meeting held July 3, following the government's announcement the same day of the results of an investigation into a recent incident of a North Korean boat docking at South Korea's Samcheok Port on the eastern coast without being detected. Yonhap |
Liberty Korea Party (LKP) to submit motion to dismiss Defense Minister
By Jung Da-min
Criticism is rising over President Moon Jae-in's military reform in the wake of a series of security and discipline failures.
Among recent incidents was the spotting of an unidentified suspect at the Navy's Second Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, July 4, by sailors on guard duty.
The unidentified person was found to be a sentry who left his assigned post to get something to drink. This was revealed July 13, but only after it turned out on July 9 that a petty officer second class had been coerced to make a false confession, July 5, by a senior officer ― a lieutenant commander.
This followed Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo's repeated apologies ― June 21, and July 3 and 9 ― over a failure in maritime security after a North Korean boat carrying four North Koreans docked at Samchoek Port on South Korea's eastern coast, about 130 kilometers south of the maritime border with the North in mid-June. The North Korean boat wasn't detected by the Navy or the Coast Guard, who were only alerted after the North Koreans approached a resident of the port.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) said Sunday that they will submit a motion to the National Assembly on Monday calling for the dismissal of Jeong over the security lapses. They have also demanded an Assembly investigation of the boat incident.
Military experts say the responsibility for such security failures lies with military leaders who failed to show a stern security posture, rather than with troops in the field. They added that the leaders have been swayed by the current administration's diplomacy and unification policy which focuses on promoting inter-Korean peace.
While President Moon Jae-in has been conducting overall military reform projects including those to improve military life, his policy toward North Korea has negatively influenced the military's discipline and vigilance by weakening the mental discipline of soldiers, sailors and airmen, they argued.
Shin In-kyun, president of the Korea Defense Network said the obscuring of the concept of North Korea as an enemy has led to the overall lax of military vigilance; while the Moon administration has failed to segregate its defense policy from its peace diplomacy with the North.
"For the past year-and-a-half, since Hyon Song-wol's visit last January, military discipline has collapsed," Shin said, referring to a former North Korean pop star and now-deputy propaganda director, who visited South Korea ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics to discuss the North's participation at the event.
"The country's defense policy should take a step back from unification and diplomatic policies," he said.
Choi Yoon-cheol, a professor at Sangmyung University's Department of National Defense, said military leaders should show a changed, stern posture in dealing with national security issues, regardless of the government's peace policy toward North Korea, to put an end to distrust in the military.
He also said training for soldiers should not be downplayed, as it would give the wrong message to North Korea.
"When such training is omitted, it will give the message to North Korea that we are sacrificing our defense posture while valuing peace policies more," he said.
Meanwhile, another wooden boat believed to be from North Korea was found off the east coast July 12, though nobody was aboard, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The JCS noted that 12 North Korean boats have been found stranded south of the maritime border so far this year.
Amid mounting criticism over security failures, the Ministry of National Defense has decided to deploy an additional medium-sized naval vessel as well as a patrol boat for maritime surveillance of the area near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) ― the border with the North ― according to a recent report to the National Assembly. The ministry will also increase patrols by manned and unmanned aircraft, while strengthening communication systems between the Navy and the Coast Guard.
It relieved the commander of the Army 8th Corps from duty, and referred the commanders of the Army 23rd Infantry Division and the Navy's First Fleet to disciplinary committees, for their failures during the boat incident. JCS Chairman Park Han-ki and commanders of the Ground Operations Command and Fleet Command also received a warning.
