hankyoreh

By Lee Soon-hyuk

One evening last November, a violent incident broke out at a bar near the Seoul National University of Education subway station. The assailant was a reserves general, while the victim was currently serving the general identified as “G.” A patrol car arrived on the scene, alerted after G’s collar was torn and the surrounded area turned into bedlam, and even a senior personnel affairs official with the Ministry of National Defense and a general with the Defense Security Command raced to the scene.

According to accounts from military officials, the incident stemmed from the aftereffects of a controversy over the ferreting out of so-called “leftist officers” purported to have done well under the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations. In September and October 2010, rumors were reportedly rife that Army general G had submitted a report to the Army Chief of Staff, a personnel official with the Ministry of National Defense, and the DSC commander stating that the reserves officer implicated in the incident and other currently serving officers who held important positions during the Kim administration “defended Kim Dae-eop, the party to the so-called byeongpung incident, who raised the issue of military service evasion of a ruling party candidate Lee Hoi-chang’s son in 2002 presidential election, and those who are still currently serving should therefore be excluded from promotions.”

According to sources, the reserves officer learned of this fact later and summoned G to ask why he was “spreading ridiculous stories,” and the two subsequently came to blows. G said, “He was my senior at the Army academy, so I had no choice but to submit to an one-sided assault.”

“However, the story has no basis whatsoever,” G added.

Whoever did draft it, it is viewed as certain in and around the armed forces that a list of “leftist officers” does indeed exist. A number of G’s Army academy classmates, including three identified as “R,” “J,” and “B,” are known to have been included in the document, and even though they represented the leading group within that class, they pinned on their stars belatedly in late 2010 after failing in their first and second promotion reviews. Another colonel identified as “J,” who is known to be a leading figure indicated on the list as a “protector of Kim Dae-eop,” was also left out during promotions.

A military source who requested anonymity said, “Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin keeps saying that the situation with the anonymous tip about military police personnel improprieties that is currently being investigated by the auditor’s office and military prosecutors is a simple case of misappropriation of public funds, but there are more criticisms surrounding personnel appointments than just that.”

“There has been a list of officers said to have collaborated with previous administrations since right after the current administration took office, and rumors have been going around that the officers in question are being shut out of promotions,” the source said.

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