Im Tae-hoon Director "Obsessed with Protecting Ministry of National Defense's Established Interests"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Lim Tae-hoon, director of the Center for Military Human Rights, criticized the ‘Civil-Military Joint Committee’ for military system reform, saying, “The military is only coming up with ineffective measures and is preoccupied with protecting vested interests.”

In an interview with MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ on the 26th, Director Lim cited “Co-chairman Park Eun-jung acting as an avatar while being considerably groomed by the Ministry of National Defense, such as obstructing the abolition of military courts during peacetime; the Ministry of National Defense falsely reporting the committee’s resolutions to the National Assembly; and the insincere attitude toward sexual harassment cases.”

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 Chair Park Eun-jung and Minister of National Defense Seo Wook, and consists of four subcommittees: ‘Protection of Soldiers’ Human Rights and Improvement of Organizational Culture (Subcommittee 1),’ ‘Prevention of Sexual Violence and Protection of Victims (Subcommittee 2),’ ‘Improvement of Soldiers’ Living Conditions (Subcommittee 3),’ and ‘Improvement of Military Judicial System (Subcommittee 4).’

However, resignations among committee members continued. On the 25th, six civilian members, including Director Lim, announced their resignation from the Civil-Military Joint Committee. Earlier, two members resigned for personal reasons when the committee was formed, and three others resigned after an emergency meeting held on the 17th regarding the death of a Navy sergeant who was a victim of sexual harassment. Subsequently, two members of Subcommittee 4, responsible for military judicial system reform, also expressed their intention to resign on the 21st.

Regarding the ‘Military Human Rights Officer,’ Director Lim said, “The core authority is the right to conduct surprise visits to units, but Democratic Party lawmaker Jo Seung-rae proposed a bill that not only lacks the right to conduct surprise visits but even allows the minister to request suspension of investigations.” He added, “This was a proposal requested by the Ministry of National Defense, but the committee passed a resolution opposing it,” pointing out that the Ministry had no intention of reform from the start.

He also said, “It has been exposed that while they politely comply in front of the president’s directive to establish the organization, they are secretly engaging in other collusions behind the scenes.”

Director Lim also expressed dissatisfaction with the committee’s proceedings. He said, “The head of the Ministry of National Defense’s Gender Equality Policy Division, Section A, came into the joint committee’s plenary meeting and suggested, ‘Let’s create a slogan like ‘No sexual violence’ and chant it every morning,’” and criticized, “It’s utterly pathetic, and the Ministry of National Defense is just stalling for time.”

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