Civil, Public, and Military Cooperation to Ban Military Uniform Trading

New type military uniforms issued to the army. The first and second on the left are old type military uniforms.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]The first public-private-military council was held to prevent the illegal distribution of unused military uniforms.

On the 30th morning, at the Ministry of National Defense's main conference room in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the council was attended by government ministries including the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Environment, National Police Agency, and Korea Customs Service, as well as representatives from the four major domestic online secondhand markets?Junggonara, Bungaejangter, Danggeun Market, and Hello Market?and secondhand clothing export companies. According to the Military Uniform Control Act, military uniforms cannot be traded on the market. Violators are subject to fines and other penalties.

However, combat uniforms are frequently traded on online secondhand markets, and through secondhand clothing collection and export companies, they are leaking overseas, with Korean military uniforms often circulating in Southeast Asia and other regions.

In response, at this meeting, the four major online secondhand markets agreed to make greater efforts to prevent illegal distribution of military uniforms by posting notices prohibiting the trade of unauthorized military supplies. Additionally, the Korea Clothing and Textile Recycling Association and secondhand clothing export companies such as Giseok Trade agreed that if military uniforms are found during clothing collection, they will immediately notify the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters and either return the uniforms to the military or dispose of them internally.

The Ministry of National Defense plans to thoroughly conduct related education for soldiers and reservists and strengthen verification procedures to ensure that no more than two sets of uniforms?one for all seasons and one for summer?are taken upon discharge.

Furthermore, to eradicate illegal distribution of military uniforms, a cross-ministerial crackdown team involving the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Environment, National Police Agency, and Korea Customs Service will operate year-round, and the public-private-military council will be held regularly.

A military official stated, "The illegal leakage of unused military uniforms is not only a violation of law but also an element that undermines national security, and this has become an opportunity for the public, private, and military sectors to form a consensus."

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