Joint Committee Ordered by President Moon... Continuous Discord with the Ministry of National Defense

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Discord continues to arise between the Ministry of National Defense and the Civil-Military Joint Committee (hereinafter Joint Committee). Following the resignation of two members due to dissatisfaction over the death of a Navy sergeant who was a victim of sexual harassment, two more members from the Ministry of National Defense have expressed their intention to resign, citing the Ministry's apparent lack of will to improve the military judicial system.

According to military officials on the 23rd, two members of the 4th subcommittee responsible for improving the military judicial system within the Joint Committee announced their resignation on the 21st. These members, part of the 4th subcommittee, had proposed the abolition of the military court during peacetime within the Joint Committee, but decided to resign after the Ministry of National Defense rejected the proposal.

On the 20th, the Ministry of National Defense omitted the 4th subcommittee’s previously approved proposal to abolish the military court during peacetime from its briefing materials to the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly. At that time, the Ministry mentioned the "operation plan for the military court during peacetime" as a future task of the 4th subcommittee and stated that "various opinions are being discussed, including reviewing concerns about abolishing the military court during peacetime and gathering the Ministry’s stance."

Until now, the 4th subcommittee of the Joint Committee has been dealing with the proposal to abolish the military court during peacetime. Although this was recommended to the Ministry of National Defense, there was a strong current of opposition within the Ministry. In response to criticism that the military was undermining the Civil-Military Joint Committee, Minister of National Defense Seo Wook held an emergency meeting with the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force on the 22nd. On that day, Minister Seo summoned Army Chief of Staff Nam Young-shin, Navy Chief of Staff Bu Seok-jong, and Air Force Chief of Staff Park In-ho to discuss measures regarding the abolition of the military court during peacetime, the transfer of some military prosecution duties to civilian prosecutors, and the controversy over the resignation of civilian members of the Civil-Military Joint Committee.

Earlier, following the emergency temporary meeting held on the 17th concerning the death of the Navy sergeant who was a victim of sexual harassment, two members of the Joint Committee also expressed their intention to resign. In response, Co-Chairman Park Eun-jung stated through the Ministry of National Defense that "it is not true that the resignation intentions of some members reflect discord within the entire Joint Committee, and we deeply regret such interpretations."

The Civil-Military Joint Committee was launched on June 28 following President Moon’s directive after the death of a female Air Force non-commissioned officer due to sexual harassment. It is co-chaired by former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Park Eun-jung and Minister of National Defense Seo Wook, and is composed of four subcommittees: "Protection of Soldiers’ Human Rights and Improvement of Organizational Culture (1st subcommittee)," "Prevention of Sexual Violence and Improvement of Victim Protection (2nd subcommittee)," "Improvement of Soldiers’ Living Conditions (3rd subcommittee)," and "Improvement of the Military Judicial System (4th subcommittee)."

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