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South Korea THE MILITARY'S ROLE IN SOCIETY
As the 1990s began, the armed forces remained the largest and
most influential government organization in South Korea. Over 75
percent of South Korean males over the age of twenty had served
in the regular army, the reserves, or the Homeland Reserve Force,
or had been assigned duties supporting the armed forces under the
Conscription Law of 1949. The National Technicians Law gave the
Ministry of National Defense the authority to order civilian
industrial plants to produce military items and to draft
technicians with special skills into military service during
wartime. The Act Concerning Protection of Military Secrets
limited the freedom of the press to report on military affairs.
The Military Installation Protection Law restricted civilian
access to areas around military installations.
The Defense White Paper, 1988, a report on the armed
forces and military preparedness and the first comprehensive
document ever prepared by the Ministry of National Defense for
the public, noted several initiatives the Roh administration had
undertaken to address these concerns. During both the Park and
Chun administrations, students who frequently demonstrated
against the government had been expelled from school and drafted
into the army, where they were treated harshly unless they
demonstrated a willingness to accept government doctrine on
opposing communism, promoting the common good of society, and
showing respect for military and political power figures. In the
Defense White Paper, 1988, the Roh administration
announced that new conscription policies had been formulated that
would standardize selection procedures and end past abuses.
Officers and noncommissioned officers (NCOs) were under orders to
follow a new military protocol that respected the rights of
soldiers as citizens. Another measure announced in 1988 was the
abolition of the Student Defense Corps, a military training
organization established at South Korean colleges in 1969 to
provide mandatory lectures on the government's national security
policies and mobilization plans and instruction in handling
weapons and military tactics.
Changes in the living and working environment on military
bases were to include the gradual elimination of barracks and
office buildings constructed in the 1950s, expansion of education
programs to prepare soldiers for selected jobs in the civilian
sector before their discharge, and small increases in pay.
Additionally, in order to alleviate civil-military discord, the
Roh administration planned to relocate many of the bases in urban
areas to suburban or rural areas as soon as possible. Urban
growth around military installations in large cities, including
Seoul, Pusan, Taejon, Inch'on, Ch'unch'on, Masan, Wonju,
Uijongbu, and Chinhae, had compromised the security of these
bases and day-to-day military activities; in turn, the bases
themselves had disturbed the normal commercial and social
activities of civilians.
In the 1980s, in addition to their regular military duties,
military units continued the traditional practice of aiding
farmers in planting and harvesting rice, assisting civil
authorities in preventing loss of life and property during and
following natural disasters, delivering medical services in rural
areas, and providing other social services. In 1987 a total of
561,000 military personnel helped local farmers plant their rice,
and 392,000 military personnel were made available for harvesting
the crop. The army and the Homeland Reserve Force--more than 1
million troops--were mobilized in July 1987 to perform rescue
operations and repair wind and flood damage caused by a typhoon.
Stranded civilians were evacuated to safety, temporary dikes were
constructed to prevent flood damage, debris was cleared from
roads, and temporary shelters were constructed for the homeless.
Government policies on emergency preparedness were designed
to quickly mobilize civilian personnel and resources to support
the military during wartime. The Military Manpower Law delegated
responsibility to the Office of Military Manpower Administration
of the Ministry of National Defense for maintaining computerized
records on all civilians who were eligible to serve in the
Homeland Reserve Force. Men and women between the ages of twenty
and sixty who had not been assigned duties in the military
reserves but had technical skills needed by the military could
also be assigned to support the military during wartime or a
national emergency declared by the president and approved by the
National Assembly under Article 77 of the 1987 Constitution. As
the 1990s began, an estimated 5 million men and women were
available for wartime duties in the Homeland Reserve Force and
designated civilian industries that would produce, repair, and
deliver defense goods to the military in wartime. Another
important element of emergency preparedness was a plan to
mobilize civilian ships, aircraft, heavy construction equipment,
and other types of vehicles and equipment useful to the military
in wartime.
Under provisions of the Emergency Prepared Resources
Management Law, provincial and local government authorities were
responsible for registering civilian assets that were to be
included in the plan. Periodic exercises of the plan were
conducted to test mobilization procedures. Local governments were
required to provide the Ministry of National Defense and other
appropriate ministries, including the Ministry of Home Affairs
and Ministry of Transportation, with their mobilization plans.
Data as of June 1990
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