By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Private contractors will be hired to assist the military in the removal of landmines following the passage of a bill in September this year.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, eligible private contractors will be commissioned to clear landmines across the country.
Many civic groups welcomed the move, saying Western countries such as the United States and Canada have already privatized landmine removal.
Moon Eun-young, chief administrator at the Korea Campaign to Ban Landmines, said in order to reduce casualties linked to landmine explosions, operations will be handled through cooperation between private companies and the Korea Research Institute for Landmine Removal.
``The demand for removing landmines is increasing due to the changing security environment on the Korean peninsula. But with the current military manpower, it is difficult to meet the growing demand,'' a military official who refused to be named told The Korea Times. ``Private firms will clear the life-threatening weapons faster and more efficiently.''
More than 1,000 civilians have fallen victim to landmine explosions since 1953 ― the latest incident taking place on Jan. 18, 2008, on a beach road on Ganghwa Island, 60 kilometers west of Seoul, leaving one resident severely injured, the chief administrator said.
Moon said the defense ministry conducted joint research with the civic group in 2003.
``Since then, the government has considered issuing licenses to non-military organizations to defuse landmines since the military lags behind private companies in technology, facilities, manpower and capital for landmine clearance.'' Landmines have been planted in 1,300 areas nationwide, especially near the Demilitarized Zone.