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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Conscientious objectors allowed to delay military service until law revision

By Lee Min-hyungThe Military Manpower Administration (MMA) will not file lawsuits against conscientious objectors until a new legal system is introduced to allow them to perform alternative service. “Starting Wednesday, we are not pursuing criminal charges against those who claim the right to refuse to serve in the military, to be in line with a recent Constitutional Court ruling,” the MMA said Thursday.The decision came a week after the court ruled the current conscription law was unconstitutional, as it does not stipulate any alternative service for conscientious objectors and it infringes upon people's freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The court also urged the National Assembly to revise the relevant military service act by introducing alternative service by the end of next year.Since Wednesday, seven people have so far applied to defer their military service, according to the MMA. Following the decision, the applicants will not be punished until the Assembly establishes a legal basis for alternative service.The number of conscientious objectors here numbere

Jul 5, 2018

Defense ministry vows to eradicate sex crimes

Defense Minister Song Young-moo, second from right, speaks in a meeting with military officers at its headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, Wednesday. The meeting was held to discuss countermeasures against recent sex crimes committed by high-tranking officers. / Courtesy of Ministry of National DefenseMinister pledges toughest punishment on soldiers' sex crimesBy Lee Min-hyungThe defense ministry convened an emergency meeting to tighten military discipline, Wednesday, a day after a rear admiral was detained for allegedly attempting to rape a female sailor. Defense Minister Song Young-moo presided over the meeting to come up with measures to prevent the recurrence of such an incident amid growing concerns over reported sex crimes by high-ranking officers.A group of high-ranking military personnel, including Vice Minister Suh Choo-suk and chiefs of staff from the Army, Navy and Air Force, joined the emergency meeting to analyze recent crime patterns and introduce appropriate preventive measures.“I will have the reported sex crime thoroughly investigated and the assailant face tough pu

Jul 4, 2018
Defense ministry vows to eradicate sex crimes

US forces in South Korea given breathing space to explore new roles

Vincent Brooks, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea / YonhapMore than six decades ago when its headquarters was ensconced in central Seoul, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) faced the grim reality of a war-ravaged South Korea gripped by fears of communist expansion at the height of the Cold War.At present, however, the once impoverished ally is anything but weak. It boasts a well-equipped military, vibrant democracy and extensive diplomatic networks, not to mention economic wealth, on which the USFK relies for the upkeep of its 28,500 troops.Such a transformation, coupled with the emerging mood for peace on the peninsula, has given the hard-bitten U.S. contingent some breathing space to explore long-term strategic visions that may go beyond its priority task of deterrence against North Korea, analysts said.Against this backdrop, the USFK relocated its headquarters last Friday to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, America's largest overseas base about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, from Yongsan at the heart of the South Korean capital.The relocation farther away from the inter-Korean border

Jul 3, 2018
US forces in South Korea given breathing space to explore new roles

US opens largest overseas military base in Pyeongtaek

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, center, and United States Forces Korea (USFK) commander General Vincent Brooks, second from right, cut a tape during a relocation ceremony for the new USFK headquarters at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe United States military opened its largest overseas base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeoggi Province, Friday, ending the 73-year history of Seoul's Yongsan Garrison. The new headquarters of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) are also in the base, named Camp Humphreys, which spans 14.6 square kilometers in area.Hundreds of ranking military officials from Seoul and Washington participated in the relocation ceremony.“With a mandate to restore peace, security and defense of the Republic of Korea, the USFK will remain the living proof of the American commitment to the alliance,” USFK commander General Vincent Brooks said in a congratulatory speech.“Our relationships and histories are intertwined and they are strong enough to support this separation,” he said, pledging to tighte

Jun 29, 2018
US opens largest overseas military base in Pyeongtaek

South Korea to design indigenous combat jet next year

South Korea plans to complete a design process for its own fighter aircraft by September next year and produce the first prototype in 2021, the nation's arms agency said Friday.The timetable is based on some progress in the KF-X program aimed at manufacturing around 120 advanced fighter jets to replace the Air Force's aging F-4 and F-5 combat planes. The so-called 4.5-generation fighters will be upgraded to have stealth functions, if needed.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has partnered with Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), a local defense firm, and Indonesia for the project worth 8.8 trillion won ($7.8 billion). Earlier this week, the DAPA conducted a preliminary design review (PDR) of the envisioned jet and concluded that it has met the requirements of the military. It's set to advance to a detailed design task."The PDR has been finished successfully to decide whether to proceed to a critical design review (CDR)," Jung Kwang-sun, head of the DAPA's KF-X Program Group, said. "We plan to complete the detailed design process by September 2019 ... and the

Jun 29, 2018
South Korea to design indigenous combat jet next year

US Forces Korea opens new headquarters in Pyeongtaek

The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) opened its new headquarters in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Friday, in a relocation project likely to broaden its security role long defined by deterrence against North Korea.The USFK held a ceremony to celebrate the relocation from Yongsan, central Seoul, to Camp Humphreys, a sprawling complex about 70 kilometers south of the capital, after a delay caused by residents' protests, budgetary issues and massive construction work to prevent floods."Today marks a historic milestone in the history of the United Nations Command (UNC) which began in 1950 and the history of the ROK (South Korea)-U.S. alliance," USFK commander Gen. Vincent Brooks said at the ceremony that marked the end of the era for Yongsan as both USFK and UNC headquarters."Indeed today, the UNC continues to be the home for the international commitment with the mandate to restore peace and security in the defense of the Republic of Korea. USFK will remain the living proof of the American commitment to the alliance," he added.The UNC oversees the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, wh

Jun 29, 2018
US Forces Korea opens new headquarters in Pyeongtaek

Constitutional Court backs punishing conscientious objectors to military service

In August 2014, South Korean enlisted soldiers attend a lesson on human rights as mandated by then-defense minister Han Min-koo. The special directive was sent to all regiments and ranks across the country. Korea Times fileThe Constitutional Court ruled Thursday it is not against the highest law to criminally punish conscientious objectors to military service, in line with its two previous rulings over the highly disputed issue. The nine-judge panel, led by Chief Justice Lee Jin-sung, delivered the decision by four votes to four. One judge rejected making a judgment for procedural reasons.Thursday's decision marks the third of its kind handed down by the Constitutional Court. In two previous adjudications in 2004 and 2011, it upheld the state's argument that holding objectors criminally accountable for violating the Military Service Act was constitutional. The court, however, found that not allowing alternative measures for military service objectors does not conform to the Constitution.Conscientious objectors in South Korea have long drawn a heated debate as to whether their claims

Jun 28, 2018
Constitutional Court backs punishing conscientious objectors to military service

G-Dragon in middle of special treatment controversy at hospital

G-Dragon / Korea TimesG-Dragon, leader of the K-pop boy band BIGBANG, became the subject of a big controversy Monday over using a one-bed room at a local hospital where he has been hospitalized for treating his ankle while in the military.Earlier in the day, an online media company reported that the singer, who is currently serving his mandatory military duty, has been admitted into the "colonel" VIP room at the Armed Forces Hospital in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province. As normal soldiers use a shared room with up to eight beds, Kwon Ji-yong, the group leader's real name, is receiving special treatment from the hospital, the report said.His agency, YG Entertainment, was quick to refute the claim. In a statement issued in the afternoon, the company said the singer is staying in the single room in order to "stop an unnecessary fuss from happening at the hospital, which is being used by many people.""After checking with his family, the rumor is groundless and malicious. There was no special treatment for the singer, and the hospital doesn't have such a VIP room. He was hospitalized according t

Jun 25, 2018
G-Dragon in middle of special treatment controversy at hospital

Germany belatedly recognized as participating nation in Korean War

Germany has been belatedly classified among the participating nations in the Korean War, as South Korea has added the European country to the list of countries that provided medical assistance during the 1950-53 war, government officials said Friday.The Ministry of National Defense has designated Germany as the sixth provider of medical support to the war-stricken South Korea 64 years ago, saying that Germans set up a hospital in Busan in May 1954 and engaged in medical assistance activities.After the outbreak of the war on the Korean Peninsula, 21 countries contributed to the United Nations force that came to the aid of South Korea against North Korea, which was backed by China and the then Soviet Union.Sixteen countries sent combat troops to South Korea, while four countries ― Norway, Denmark, Sweden and India ― sent medical units and Italy provided a hospital to the South.In May 1953, two months before the ceasefire, Germany notified the U.N. headquarters of its intent to set up a field hospital in South Korea to support U.N. soldiers participating in the Korean War and sent a med

Jun 22, 2018
Germany belatedly recognized as participating nation in Korean War
  • PHOTOS Rare historic photos of Korean War you should not miss

South Korean military halts own exercise after UFG suspension

By Lee Min-hyungSouth Korea has delayed an independent military exercise slated to begin later this month in efforts to ensure the smooth progress of the ongoing denuclearization and normalization talks with North Korea, according to the Ministry of National Defense. This is the first time the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) has decided to postpone the annual Taegeuk command-post exercise, held in May or June each year, since it started in 1995.The decision came in response to a recent agreement between Seoul and Washington to suspend their large-scale Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) drill in August. On Tuesday, both sides agreed to suspend the joint exercise in return for North Korea's ongoing pledge to realize complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Detailed schedules for the resumption of the Taegeuk exercise have not been fixed, according to the JCS. The JCS planned to stage the drill for four days starting June 26 to enhance defense readiness and brace for the North's possible military provocations.The Ministry of National Defense remains in a position to respond flexibly to

Jun 21, 2018
South Korean military halts own exercise after UFG suspension
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