By Na Jeong-ju
President Lee Myung-bak rejected a proposal from the military to drop the ongoing plan to reduce the mandatory military service period to 18 months by 2014 and instead return it to 24 months, Friday, reasoning that the matter of curtailing the service period should be reviewed carefully.
The country has been gradually reducing the service period under the “Military Reform Plan 2020,” mapped out in 2005 under the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration.
The program calls for the military to cut the service period to 18 months by 2014, from the current average of 21 months.
The Presidential Commission for National Security Review, launched after the sinking of the warship Cheonan in March, advised Lee early last month to reconsider the reduction plan, citing growing security threats from North Korea.
Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for torpedoing the naval ship, but the communist country has denied its involvement.
“Returning the military service term to 24 months is not an easy matter. The government needs to review it more cautiously,” Lee said during a meeting with the commission members, according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung.
If implemented, the reduction is expected to slash the number of South Korean troops to around 500,000 by 2020 from the current 650,000. All able-bodied South Korean men are obliged to serve in the military deterring the North’s 1.1-million troops.
In 2020, with the 18-month conscription period in effect, the country’s Army is projected to consist of just fewer than 390,000 active duty personnel. With a 24-month conscription period, that number could be around 500,000, according to the military.
The government plans to increase the defense budget gradually so that the military can purchase advanced technological weapons and other systems to make up for its declining manpower.
At Friday’s meeting, Lee also stressed the need to bolster defense capabilities.
“It is important to improve the hardware, but what is more important is to have commanders who are mentally stronger,” Lee said.
With regard to the combat capability of South Korean troops, the commission said they needed a proactive deterrence strategy to prepare for various types of provocation from North Korea, Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
The commission also called for boosting the military’s ability to conduct cyber warfare as the North tosses threats of cyber terrorism.
It demanded the military make more efforts to enhance the interoperability of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and that the role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff be readjusted to improve the efficiency of the command and control system.