[2020 National Audit] Ministry of National Defense "Revising Soldier Leave Regulations"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Ministry of National Defense has decided to improve the leave system for soldiers. This decision comes after allegations regarding the leave of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son surfaced, prompting a revision of the regulations.

On the 7th, in the work report submitted to the National Assembly's National Defense Committee's audit, the Ministry of National Defense stated, "By the end of the year, we will revise the regulations considering the results of the prosecution's investigation related to Minister Choo Mi-ae's son and the issues identified internally," and added, "We will diagnose and supplement the leave status of units at the regiment and brigade level as well as the Republic of Korea Army Support Group (KATUSA)."

The system improvements will focus on ▲ maintaining consistency in leave-related regulations between the Ministry of National Defense and each military branch ▲ supplementing administrative procedures before, during, and after leave ▲ revising terminology and regulations to make them easier to understand and apply at subordinate units.

Although the prosecution cleared Minister Choo and her son, Seo Mo (27), of any charges, this incident revealed several internal military issues. Seo served as a KATUSA in the US 2nd Infantry Division area under the US 8th Army Korea in 2017 and took a total of 23 days of leave, including two consecutive periods of sick leave and personal leave.

The Ministry of National Defense also stated that, regarding the shooting death of a civilian official in the West Sea on the 22nd of last month, it is attempting to manage the situation with awareness of public opinion in the South. Regarding North Korean military movements after the civilian shooting incident, it reported, "No unusual movements have been identified, and efforts are focused on recovery from heavy rain and typhoon damage," adding, "Large-scale troops and equipment have been deployed to the Hwanghae, Gangwon, and Hamgyeong provinces to push for recovery before the Workers' Party founding day (October 10)."

It further reported that the Yongbyon 5MWe reactor remains in a long-term shutdown state and no unusual activities have been identified around the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. It added, "Personnel and vehicle activities continue at missile-related facilities," and "Preparations for events such as the 75th anniversary parade of the Workers' Party founding are in the final stages." However, it did not mention which weapons and equipment would be mobilized for the parade.

Regarding North Korea's internal situation, the Ministry explained, "The party, military, and civilians emphasize 'unity of one mind' and are fully mobilizing national capabilities to focus on flood recovery. The expanded meeting of the Party Political Bureau (September 29) reemphasized prevention of COVID-19 and border closures." It also evaluated that "the 75th anniversary of the Party founding and preparations for the 8th Party Congress (January 2021) are strengthening regime cohesion."

The Ministry of National Defense added, "North Korea is refraining from external criticism of the US and managing the situation while seeking to strengthen solidarity with pro-North countries such as China and Russia," and "It is maintaining a silence stance regarding remarks by major US officials on North Korea negotiations and the book 'RAGE' by Bob Woodward."

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