"Only 20 Cereal Pieces" Another Report of Substandard Military Meals... Army Holds Another Countermeasure Meeting Today

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Reports of substandard meals for isolated soldiers within the military continue unabated. Despite Defense Minister Seo Wook preparing countermeasures through major commanders' meetings and issuing orders to units, these measures are reportedly not being effective.

According to ‘Delivering on behalf of the Army Training Center (Yukdaejeon)’ on the 20th, a whistleblower claiming to be an isolated soldier under a unit of the Armed Forces Command and Communication Command complained, “The side dishes and soup served on the 10th did not match the menu, and lunch that day consisted solely of 20 cereal pieces.”

The whistleblower said, “It’s not like a two-year-old child is eating, but when I complained about the portion size, they just told me to eat it,” adding, “When officers took photos of the meals, they deliberately arranged the food to look abundant and shouted ‘photography technique’ while taking pictures.”

The Ministry of National Defense recently launched an audit on the meal provisions for isolated personnel in 21 units in the Gyeryongdae area of Chungnam Province. This is analyzed as a judgment that orders from the military leadership have not been effective at the frontline. Since the initial exposure of ‘substandard meals’ in a brigade under the 51st Division on the 18th of last month, Defense Minister Seo Wook has repeatedly urged subordinates to treat their troops like their own children or siblings. On the 28th, he appeared before the National Assembly’s Defense Committee to issue a public apology, and Army Chief of Staff Nam Young-shin also expressed “deep responsibility” and issued instructions.

At the all-army major commanders’ meeting on the 7th of this month, measures to improve the treatment of isolated soldiers as a COVID-19 prevention measure were announced. At that time, the Ministry of National Defense increased the daily meal budget per soldier by 20% and announced that soldiers could remotely order from military base convenience stores (PX) via KakaoTalk, accompanied by extensive publicity. On the 14th, the Ministry visited the on-base support unit and instructed commanders to “exert special command attention to provide warm meals without missing menu items under the principle of ‘proper quantity and balanced distribution.’”

Defense Minister Seo Wook is scheduled to hold a video conference with major commanders across the army on the 20th regarding the issue of substandard meals.

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