hankyoreh

The Korean military is sixty years old. During that time it has seen much growth, both outwardly and internally. It has disgrace in its history with two coup d’etats, but for the twenty years since democratization in 1987 it has quietly carried out its mission and walked and developed together with Korean democracy. A recent opinion survey found the military to be the most trusted organization in Korean society. We congratulate the military on its accomplishments and express our gratitude for its hard work.

The military is currently working towards becoming an “elite, advanced, strong military” (jeongyehwadoen seonjin ganggun). “Only a strong military can defend the national territory, deter war, and guarantee peace,” said President Lee Myung-bak at yesterday’s Armed Forces Day commemoration, again stressing the need for a strong military. It is only a matter of course that we need to strengthen our military, given grim international realities in which you cannot defend peace and the country’s respect without being backed up by strength. It should go without saying that we need a strong national defense as long as there has not been action to ease military tensions between North and South Korea.

A strong military, however, is not going to develop by reviving morning runs and strengthening discipline and other kinds of troop training. More than anything else, it needs the support of the Korean people. The problem is that the direction of the Lee administration’s national defense policies involves a few number of factors that cause concern. This is particularly apparent in the area of reform, such as “civilianization” -- something that has long been pursued based on the agreement of the Korean public. Since the installment of Minister of National Defense Lee Sang-hee, reform measures are either not being implemented or are falling behind.

A typical example would be how they have stalled the expansion of the number of civilians in key positions in the Ministry of National Defense, as stipulated by laws pertaining to military reform. The claim about the “particularities of the military” has the advantage over the universal principle of civilian control, and the army is enjoying its own show, instead of there being balanced development among the three branches of service that are the army, the navy and the air force. The long-term development plan called “National Defense Reform 2020” is suffering from a lack of commitment, and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, established to eradicate corruption and to adopt a program of impartial and expert equipment acquisition, is about to be either abolished or have its authority sharply reduced. The ministry is being anachronistic and is regressing when it demands that school textbooks be changed to be more supportive of the military dictatorships and when it classifies books officially recommended by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as “subversive.”

If the military is going to be trusted, it needs to be not only strong but also “democratic.” It is easy to fall into self-importance and arbitrariness when all you have is strength. The people’s love for their military will continue -- if it engages in endless introspection and pursues democratic reforms.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]