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Korea Herald
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Will S. Korea see 'civilian' defense minister?
One of President Lee Jae-myung's key campaign pledges made during his latest run was to appoint a 'civilian' defense minister, referring to a nominee with zero to brief military experience. His pledge came as several high-ranking military officials, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, are currently on criminal trial on charges of conspiring in insurrection and of abuse of official authority tied to impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed Dec. 3 martial law bid. The position is currently filled by acting Defense Minister and Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho, who took on the role following Kim Yong-hyun's resignation after the martial law bid in early December. Lee kicked off the appointment of members of the presidential office and the Cabinet last week, and all eyes are on who will become the next defense minister amid growing security concerns on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea's advancing nuclear weapons program, coupled with reports of the Trump administration's potential troop cut of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea, has fueled the worries. In South Korea, the position of defense minister has usually been held by a retired four-star Army general or Navy admiral. Of all 50 defense ministers so far, only five held the position without military experience. On top of it, most defense ministers were nominated while in active duty or almost immediately after announcing retirement. Though the moves managed to uphold Article 87 of the Constitution of Republic of Korea, which states that 'No member of the military shall be appointed a member of the State Council unless he (or) she is retired from active duty,' it has been criticized for building a tradition that led to lack of reform within the military. If Lee appoints a 'civilian' nominee, it would mark the first time such a person takes office since May 1961, after former Defense Minister Hyeon Suk-ho, who had no military experience at all, stepped down. Sources close to the matter said that Lee is considering the five-term lawmaker and ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Ahn Gyu-back as a strong candidate for defense minister. Ahn is a former chair of the National Assembly's defense committee and a close aide of Lee. He also led the parliamentary committee probing into Yoon's martial law bid. Though Ahn has completed his two-year mandatory military service from 1983 to 1985, he has no professional military background. Meanwhile, the US law mandates a cooling-off period of seven years between active-duty service and appointment to the Secretary of Defense, aiming to ensure civilian control over the military.
![[팟캐스트] (682) 잇따른 사고로 도마에 오른 ‘군 기강'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F04%2F24%2Fnews-p.v1.20250421.5fa13ab8c2464528863f608abbd7c1bf_T1.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Korea Herald
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
[팟캐스트] (682) 잇따른 사고로 도마에 오른 ‘군 기강'
Military under fire for 'lack of discipline' after series of major accidents 기사 요약: 최근 연이어 발생한 군 사고가 미숙한 조작 및 실수에서 비롯된 것으로 알려지면서, 군 기강해이에 대한 우려와 논란이 커지고 있다. [1] South Korea's military has come under fire for lax discipline following a series of major accidents in recent months, including the latest involving the Air Force's accidental dropping of two gun pods from a KA-1 light attack aircraft during training on Friday. come under fire: 비판을 받다 lax: 해이한 [2] The series of incidents came amid a leadership vacuum in the military that began in December, prompting security concerns due to signs of a weakened defense posture. vacuum: 공백 [3] Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and several other key unit commanders were arrested and have been detained for their alleged roles in ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law declaration on Dec. 3. alleged: 추정되는 [4] 'On the surface, (the series of accidents) may seem to be merely a lack of discipline within the military, but it's more an accumulation of inadequate military training,' said Yang Uk, a research fellow in military strategy and weapons systems at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, speaking via phone on Sunday.
Korea Herald
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Military under fire for 'lack of discipline' after series of major accidents
Expert blames years of 'inadequate' military training, calls for consistency South Korea's military has come under fire for lax discipline following a series of major accidents in recent months, including the latest involving the Air Force's accidental dropping of two gun pods from a KA-1 light attack aircraft during training on Friday. The series of incidents came amid a leadership vacuum in the military that began in December, prompting security concerns due to signs of a weakened defense posture. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and several other key unit commanders were arrested and have been detained for their alleged roles in ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law declaration on Dec. 3. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho is currently serving as the acting defense minister. 'On the surface, (the series of accidents) may seem to be merely a lack of discipline within the military, but it's more an accumulation of inadequate military training,' said Yang Uk, a research fellow in military strategy and weapons systems at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, speaking via phone on Sunday. 'It's the result of inconsistency in military training, with the liberal Moon Jae-in administration having halted and scaled back several key drills and then the Yoon administration failing to revive the momentum of the exercises,' he said. What the South Korean military desperately needs at the moment is consistency in its training, in Yang's view. According to the Air Force on Friday, a KA-1 light attack aircraft jettisoned two gun pods and two empty fuel tanks during a night training exercise held over Pyeongchang, approximately 125 kilometers east of Seoul. No casualties or property damage have been reported as the components landed in a mountainous area, the Air Force said. The Air Force announced the following day that it had found and retrieved the two gun pods by mobilizing one HH-60 helicopter and 270 troops. But it failed to find the two empty fuel tanks on Saturday and said that the search mission would continue on Sunday. Friday's accident came a month after an Israeli-made Heron -- a large uncrewed aerial reconnaissance vehicle -- crashed into a Surion utility helicopter that was parked in an airfield at an Army base in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on March 18. The crash ignited a fire, and both the helicopter and the UAV were destroyed. There were no casualties or injuries, but the Army is believed to have incurred a financial loss of at least 23 billion won ($16.1 million). After launching an internal investigation into the matter, the South Korean Army on April 9 blamed the incident on "a sudden gust of strong wind." The wind pushed the UAV, which was attempting to land on the runway, toward the helicopter, the Army explained. Two weeks prior to the crash, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets accidentally bombed a village near the inter-Korean border, injuring 38 people, mostly civilians. The South Korean Air Force cited pilot error for the accident. Since then, the two pilots and two Air Force unit commanders have been booked by Defense Ministry investigators on charges of professional negligence resulting in injury.
Korea Herald
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Military under fire for 'lack of discipline' after series of incidents
Expert blames years of 'inadequate' military training, calls for consistency South Korea's military has come under fire for lax discipline following a series of incidents in recent months, including the latest involving the Air Force's accidental dropping of two gun pods from a KA-1 light attack aircraft during training on Friday. The series of incidents came amid a leadership vacuum in the military that began in December, prompting security concerns due to signs of a weakened defense posture. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and several other key unit commanders have been arrested and detained for their alleged roles in ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho is currently serving as the acting minister. 'On the surface, (the series of incidents) may seem to be merely a lack of discipline within the military, but it's more an accumulation of inadequate military training,' said Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, speaking via phone. 'It's the result of inconsistency in military training, with the liberal Moon Jae-in administration having halted and scaled back several key drills and then the Yoon administration failing to revive the momentum of the exercises,' he added. What the South Korean military desperately needs at the moment is consistency in its training, Yang suggested. According to the Air Force on Friday, a KA-1 light attack aircraft jettisoned two gun pods and two empty fuel tanks during a night training exercise held over Pyeongchang, approximately 125 kilometers east of Seoul. No casualties or property damage have been reported as the components landed in a mountainous area, the Air Force added. The Air Force announced the following day that it had found and retrieved the two gun pods by mobilizing one HH-60 helicopter and 270 troops. But it failed to find the two empty fuel tanks on Saturday and said that the search mission would continue on Sunday. Friday's incident came a month after an Israeli-made Heron -- a large uncrewed aerial reconnaissance vehicle -- crashed into a Surion utility helicopter that was parked in an airfield at an Army base in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on March 18. The crash ignited a fire, and both the helicopter and the UAV were destroyed. There were no casualties or injuries, but the Army is believed to have incurred a financial loss of at least 23 billion won ($16.1 million). After launching an internal investigation into the matter, the South Korean Army on April 9 blamed the incident on "a sudden gust of strong wind." The wind pushed the UAV, which was attempting to land on the runway, toward the helicopter, the Army explained. Two weeks prior to the crash, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets accidentally bombed a village near the inter-Korean border, injuring 38 people, mostly civilians. The South Korean Air Force cited pilot error for the accident. Since then, the two pilots and two Air Force unit commanders have been booked by Defense Ministry investigators on charges of professional negligence resulting in injury.
Korea Herald
17-02-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Secondhand market app Karrot hits 2 million users in Canada
Korean service provider Danggeun Market announced Monday that its marketplace app, Karrot, has reached 2 million accumulated users in Canada -- an achievement that advances the company's push into the broader North American market. According to the company, Karrot doubled its Canadian user base to 2 million in just nine months, after taking two years to reach its first million users in May last year. The rapid growth is attributed to strengthened local strategies and expanded service coverage across Canada, except French-speaking Quebec. Karrot's focus on trust-based, neighborhood-driven secondhand trading aligns with North America's community-centered values, a company official explained. The official also noted that local users appreciate how the platform fosters face-to-face interactions, not just for transactions but also for building friendships and strengthening community bonds. Since launching its first international venture in the UK in 2019, Karrot has expanded to over 1,400 regions across four countries, including Canada, Japan and the United States. To accelerate its adaptation to the Canadian market, the company established Daangn Inc. in 2021, with co-founder Kim Yong-hyun leading operations since 2022. In 2023, it appointed Robert Kim, an expert in local commerce services, as CEO of its Canadian operations. The company emphasized that global expansion has been central to its vision from the outset, with its Canadian operations now serving as a cornerstone for broader North American growth. "We will leverage our expertise and experience gained in Canada to evolve into a global company with greater influence across the North American market," the official stated.
