Military reforms likely to run aground

Partisan politics hamper legislation process at National Assembly


Hamstrung by political maneuvering, military reform plans appear increasingly unlikely to be realized within President Lee Myung-bak’s term.

On Tuesday, the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee failed to agree to put the plans up for deliberation despite the majority of the committee members supporting the plans.

According to a recent survey of the National Defense Committee members conducted by a local daily, 11 lawmakers on the 17-member committee support the plans.

Under the plans, the chiefs of the three armed services, mostly administrative positions until now, would be included in the operational command structure. At the top are the president, who is the commander-in-chief, and the head of the Joint Chief of Staffs. While the service chiefs would take part in the operational process, they would have to share their administrative powers with the JCS chief to the extent that they are related to operations, namely in personnel and logistic affairs.

The ruling Saenuri Party and opposition parties agreed to hold another meeting on Thursday, and put up the issue for consideration at the plenary session on Monday.

However, with opposition party members having stated that they will boycott a vote on the issue, it is unlikely that the reform bill will be passed this month.

Those opposing the reform cite illogicalities in the plans.

“The plans show that the command of each force will be given to the chief of staff of the respective services, but that will achieve the exact opposite of improved interoperability,” a policy aide of DUP’s Rep. Seo Jong-pyo, a retired four-star Army general, said. Seo is one of the three Defense Committee members who oppose the plans outright. He added that the party has no official stance on military reform, as the review process is still in its early stages, and that a number of ruling party members with military backgrounds also oppose the plans. 

Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin looks up at the ceiling before the start of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee meeting in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap News)

For its part, the Ministry of National Defense stands by the proposed plans, and one high-level official has described them as being aimed at “making the system into one that is logical and considered natural.”

“The plans were drawn up to the best of our abilities at the current time. There were many objections, and the current plans were arrived at after numerous conferences and negotiations,” a Ministry of National Defense official said.

Observers outside the ministry, however, differ on the issue.

“While the reform (plans) says that the military’s structure will be improved, an unimproved structure is being maintained. The structure in Korea is that the head (the command) is large while continuing to depend heavily on conscripts,” Yang Uk, senior research fellow at Korea Defense and Security Forum, said. He added that in advanced militaries, there is a thick layer of non-commissioned officers and others with ample experience that shore up the officers.

“The direction of the reform is well thought out, but there are shortfalls in the plans. I think that it (the reform plans) should have looked at whether the JCS can respond quickly to threats, and its ability to conduct a war as it stands now.”

However, militaristic considerations may not be the only reasons driving those opposed to the plans. The ruling party is still in the grips of turmoil, despite its renaming and a series of reform measures.

The Lee Myung-bak administration is showing all the signs commonly seen close to the end of a president’s term, with a number of Lee’s close aides stepping down from posts and being implicated in political scandals.

“A reform should be carried out early on in an administration. Even then a military reform, which is directly linked to national security but influenced by not only active service members but retired generals, is a difficult task,” a former politician said declining to be named.

The strong opposition from retired generals, particularly those from the Air Force and the Navy, may also have factored in the politicians’ reluctance to push the reform plans through.

With the Army making up the bulk of the Korean military, an Army general conventionally takes the Joint Chiefs of Staff chair.

Under the system proposed by the plans, the chiefs of the Navy and Air Force would be his subordinates, with the JCS chair having control over the two branches in both administrative and operational matters.

With the situation as it stands, the reform plans are likely to be put on the back shelf for some time to come.

However, Yang says the delay may not be an entirely bad thing for the military.

“The fact that the process may be halted could have positive results as there will be more time for fine tuning,” Yang said.

“Also, whether or not the opinions of minorities within the military, the Navy and the Air Force have been sufficiently reflected in the plans can also be reconsidered.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)