"KATUSA Follows USFK Regulations First" vs "Leave Must Follow Korean Military Regulations"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The opposition party has rebutted again against the claim by the legal team of Mr. Seo, son of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, who argued that "KATUSA follows the regulations of the U.S. Army in Korea" and that there was no problem with the administrative processing of leave. While the basic regulations for KATUSA soldiers follow the U.S. Army regulations in Korea, the administrative management such as leave system management is maintained through the administrative chain of the Korean Army Support Group.

On the 8th, Yoo Sang-beom, a member of the People Power Party, stated in a "Rebuttal to the statement of Minister Choo's son's legal team," "Administrative management such as the leave system must follow Army regulations."

Earlier, Mr. Seo's legal team claimed, "KATUSA primarily applies the 'U.S. Army in Korea regulations,' not the Army regulations, so there is no problem with sick leave and vacation." The legal team also said, "Some media reports, based on Army regulations, claim that after the first sick leave ends, one must return to the unit and then get approval again, but the primarily applied regulation does not contain such provisions, and it is unclear where such a regulation exists in the Army regulations."

Representative Yoo said, "According to U.S. Army in Korea Regulation 600-2, section 2-5 command structure, administrative management such as leave system management of the Korean Army is maintained through the administrative chain of the Korean Army Support Group," adding, "This means that while the basic regulations for KATUSA soldiers follow the U.S. Army in Korea regulations, the practical and specific administrative management is established and maintained through the Korean Army Support Group."

Regarding this, the Ministry of National Defense also expressed a similar position to Representative Yoo. The Ministry stated, "Since this is an ongoing investigation, it is not appropriate to take a specific stance on the legal team's claims," but also said, "KATUSA is fundamentally a status of the Republic of Korea Army dispatched to the U.S. Forces Korea, and basic personnel management such as leave and discharge is under the command of the Korean Army."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There are ongoing rebuttals and counter-rebuttals regarding the absence of leave-related supporting documents.

Mr. Seo's legal team argued, "KATUSA primarily applies U.S. Army in Korea Regulation 600-2, which requires leave documents to be kept for one year," and added, "According to Army regulations, documents must be kept for five years, so the claim that the absence of current documents is a violation of regulations is incorrect."

In response, the office of Yoon Han-hong of the People Power Party rebutted on the same day, saying, "The claim by Mr. Seo's legal team that KATUSA keeps medical records for only one year is completely wrong." They continued, "According to confirmation with the Ministry of National Defense, from 2018 to 2019, there were three other KATUSA soldiers who took more than 20 consecutive days of leave like Mr. Seo, and their records are kept by the unit," emphasizing, "According to the legal team's claim, these records should also have been destroyed."

They added, "According to Article 4-4 A of Regulation 600-2, Korean Army leave must follow the command of the Army Staff Village Commander," and said, "Therefore, it is correct that the records of Mr. Seo, a Korean soldier, should comply with the Army's five-year retention period."

According to data received by Yoon Han-hong's office from the Ministry of National Defense the previous day, from December 2016 to last year, five soldiers, including Mr. Seo, took more than 20 consecutive days of leave, and among them, only Mr. Seo and another soldier, Mr. A, who took leave in 2017, had no supporting documents.

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