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| The South Korean military said its guardhouse system will be abolished next week. Yonhap |
By Jung Min-ho
The South Korean military's notorious detention system will fade into history after 124 years.
The Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that its guardhouses, where rank-and-file soldiers can be detained up to 15 days without warrants, will be abolished by Aug 5.
According to the revised Military Personnel Management Act, education programs and other types of penalties, such as salary reduction, will replace the punishment method, which human rights groups have long criticized.
Under military law, all able-bodied men must serve in the military or other public institutions for a certain time in South Korea. But time spent in the confinement facilities does not count.
After the revision, any incarceration of soldiers will be possible only through court trials. The ministry said the origin of the detention system dated from Jan. 24, 1896, under King Gojong.
"We will continue to push for defense reform to better protect the human rights of service members while maintaining a strong military spirit," the ministry said in a statement.
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