Panel proposes creating ready reserve corps

By Jung Sung-ki

A presidential ad hoc panel on national defense affairs has proposed a plan to establish a 10,000-strong “Ready Reserve” Corps that could be called up in case of emergency, a military source said Monday.

The idea is one of about 30 measures proposed by the committee to Cheong Wa Dae to help improve the nation’s defense posture, the source said.

A separate defense committee affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense will review the proposals and make a final decision.

South Korea maintains a mandatory conscription system under which all able-bodied men over 19 are required to serve in the military for about two years.

As the military service period is being gradually shortened to some 18 months over the next few years under a 2007 revision, the military is worried about a potential manpower shortage.

Against that backdrop, the panel earlier suggested that the reduction in the service period be reversed. It also recommended that the military maintain about 600,000 forces, putting a halt to a troop reduction under the Defense Reform Plan 2020, which calls for downsizing the troop numbers to about 517,000.

The South Korean military maintains regular reserved forces of about three million. But some experts say more trained reserved troops are necessary.

Members of the so-called Ready Reserve Corps would be required to undergo military training for a couple of days a year and mobilized should a national crisis occur, the source said.

The U.S. military maintains the Individual Ready Reserve (IPR) composed of former active duty or reserve military personnel.

An individual assigned to the IPR may receive pay and benefits, including medical care, for voluntarily performing specific types of active duty. The IPR has approximately 110,000 members.

South and North Korea remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a permanent peace treaty.

안보점검회의, 긴급동원 예비군 편성 건의

대통령 직속 안보점검회의는 1만명 규모의 긴급동원 예비군 설치 방안을 청와대에 보고했다.

안보점검회의는 이를 포함해서 약 30여 개의 군 대비태세 강화 안을 청와대에 보고한 것으로 알려졌다.

국방부는 이 계획을 검토 후 최종 결정을 내릴 것으로 알려졌다.

지난 2007년 바뀐 병역법으로 현재 군의 복무기간은 18개월로 줄어들고 있는 가운데 향후 병력 부족의 문제점이 대두되고 있다.

이와 관련 안보점검 회의는 복무기간 단축 계획을 중단하는 한편 현재의 60만 병력을 유지하는 안을 제시한 바 있다.

현재 한국군은 전시대비 약 3백만 명의 정규 예비군을 운영하고 있다.

긴급동원 예비군은 이와 별도로 일년에 두 세차례의 훈련을 받고 난 후 국가적 위기 상태가 발생했을 때 동원되는 병력이다.