Military Detention and Military Police Designations to Disappear

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] The military detention system and the term 'Military Police' that began during the late Joseon Dynasty under King Gojong are disappearing into history.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 10th, the amendment to the Military Personnel Act, which abolishes the military detention system and the term Military Police, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 9th.

According to the amendment, the key point is to abolish military detention and replace it with military discipline education, salary reduction, leave reduction, confinement, and reprimand. Military discipline education refers to education and training on military spirit and service attitude conducted by institutions designated by the 'Ministry of National Defense Ordinance,' with a period limited to within 15 days. Salary reduction means reducing the monthly salary by one-fifth, with the period set between one month and three months.

Leave reduction refers to reducing the number of leave days during the service period. The reduction per instance is limited to within 5 days, and the total reduction during the service period cannot exceed 15 days. Reprimand refers to a warning given after identifying misconduct or mistakes to prevent recurrence. The Military Personnel Act passed by the National Assembly states, "A soldier shall not be subjected to physical detention except under this Act, orders pursuant to this Act, or other laws," and "The reasons for disciplinary action shall be determined by the Ministry of National Defense Ordinance."

Recently, the military detention system has been continuously criticized from the perspective of 'military human rights' due to reasons such as the detention being decided at the discretion of the unit commander without the judgment of a military court, and the extension of the service period by the detention period being interpreted as double punishment, unlike admission to the military discipline education unit, which is a milder punishment than detention.

Also, the term Military Police will be changed to 'Military Police Corps.' The military has been reviewing the renaming because the term 'Military Police' evokes the Japanese military police during the Japanese colonial period. According to the Army Military Police internet homepage, the Military Police Command was established in March 1947, and on March 11 of the following year, the Joseon Guard Military Police Command was created. On December 15, 1948, the Military Police Corps was renamed from the Military Discipline Corps, and the Military Police branch was established.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.