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” as justification for its recent dismissal of two military judicial officers who filed petitions against the ministry’s classification of a list of books as “subversive.”

In connection with the dismissal of military judicial officers who submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court regarding the designation of “subversive books,” a Ministry of National Defense representative explained Friday that severe disciplinary actions were “inevitable, because of a security crisis that is becoming more serious each day recently.” This is being seen by some as an attempt to use the deteriorating state of inter-Korean relations, as seen in North Korea’s rocket launch activity and its closure of passage to and from the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex, to counter objections in the legal world and civic society that soldiers are being deprived of their Constitutional right to jurisdiction claims.

The Ministry of National Defense posted an announcement on its web site Friday under the title “Perspective on the Military Judicial Officer Disciplinary Measures.” The announcement stressed, “Our military is doing its best toward a perfect military readiness posture in a security crisis, and what is most needed to maintain a perfect military readiness posture is strict military discipline and the firm establishment of a clear chain of command.” The announcement went on to say, “If the military does not take strict disciplinary action when an inferior officer engages in acts that criticize a superior officer’s measures without going through ordinary procedures, can such a military really win in battle, and can it protect the lives and property of the nation’s people from enemy aggression?”

The ministry’s claim that strict disciplinary action against the judicial officers was inevitable because of the security crisis represents a new logic developed after its original reason given for the disciplinary action was found wanting by the public. But with no clear relation between deteriorated inter-Korean relations and the disciplining of judicial officers, it seems likely that the measure will be criticized by some as self-serving.

The disciplinary grounds the Defense Ministry gave when dismissing the judicial officers Wednesday included a breach in the military chain of command (a violation of Article 24, Item 1 in the Military Service Regulations), defamation of and contempt for military leaders (Article 9) and violation of the obligation to maintain dignity (Article 9). In short, this means that the problem was a procedural issue, in that the officers submitted their petition first without going through the proper internal procedure of bringing up the issue with the chain of command before doing so.

But Grand National Party lawmaker Kim Dong-sung said on a radio program Friday that the officers’ presentation of a petition to the Constitutional Court was a “right guaranteed to all citizens in the Constitution, and because soldiers are citizens too, naturally they can make Constitutional petitions.” Kim also said that he did not feel the grounds for dismissal given by the military were justifiable.

Since 2005, actively serving soldiers and civilian workers employed by the military have submitted petitions to the Constitutional Court on 10 occasions, including the current Defense Security Command Commander, Army Lieutenant General Kim Jong-tae, who petitioned a stipulation in the Military Personnel Management Act after being relieved of his assignment in 2005 during his period as a division commander. However, there have been no other cases of disciplinary action in response to a petition.

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