[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] Military Civil Servants to Be Assigned to Guard Duty Going Forward

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] In the future, civilian employees working in the military will also be deployed for guard duty. When serving as a guard squad leader or guard officer on duty, they will be able to give orders to regular soldiers armed with firearms, which is expected to cause controversy.

The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 7th that it has promulgated and enforced the "Enforcement Decree of the Civilian Employee Personnel Act," which includes revisions related to civilian employee duty assignments.

According to the enforcement decree, civilian employees will be assigned to guard duty and duty shifts outside of working hours, including holidays, to prepare for incidents such as fires and thefts, and to maintain communication for work. In particular, civilian employees assigned to duty shifts are required to prevent all accidents and take necessary measures if an incident occurs. This means that when on guard duty, they can issue orders to soldiers who are armed with firearms.

In response, a Ministry of National Defense official said, "Civilian employees must be able to respond to necessary measures," adding, "This enforcement decree is designed to prepare for all possible incidents."

Meanwhile, the final successful candidates for the open and career competitive recruitment exams for civilian employees will be selected by combining interview and written exam scores at a 50:50 ratio. Previously, final candidates were determined based on interview scores among those who passed the written exam. The Ministry of National Defense explained that this system improvement aims to reduce the influence of interview scores and enhance fairness. Based on the ministry’s directive, the enforcement decree was revised so that the appointment authority for civilian employees, previously exercised by the Minister of National Defense, will now be exercised by the President for grade 2 or higher civilian employees, and by the Minister for grades 3 to 5. Going forward, positions such as the Director of the Ministry of National Defense Support Group and the Commander of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Sports Unit will be appointed by the President.

A Ministry of National Defense official stated, "We expect the status and fairness of civilian employee recruitment to be strengthened," and added, "We plan to continue improving the system to expand the role of civilian employees within the military in the future."

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