By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Soldiers will be banned from slandering the President, the military's supreme commander, via the Internet under a revision to the Ethics Code for servicemembers, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.
``The Constitution stipulates that the President is the supreme commander of the nation's military, but the service ethics code doesn't carry the provision,'' a ministry spokesman said, asking not to be named.
The revised code says subordinates should respect the authority of their leaders and not engage in activities harming their authority online and offline, he said.
The revision, in particular, aims to crack down on soldiers' online activities criticizing President Lee Myung-bak, said the spokesman.
``We have recently seen an increase in online activities by soldiers that goes against military discipline,'' he said, adding that some soldiers have been found spreading criticism of their leaders or the President via mobile phone text messages. ``This is a serious problem we should deal with now as such activities could cause widespread negative views of our society in the barracks.''
The ministry has already sent an official letter to military units nationwide June 25, warning against those posting slanderous remarks against their leaders or the President on personal blogs or portal sites, he said.
The code also bans active soldiers from participating in political rallies or anti-government signature campaigns, which the military believes compromises the military's political neutrality.
South Korea maintains a compulsory conscription law under which able-bodied men over 20 are required to serve in the military for 24 to 27 months.