So, the Seoul Shinmun talked with some serving generals and field-grade officers about the problems faced by the South Korean military.
Interesting piece. To summarize the major complaints:
- No “general-like generals.” The ROK military’s generals have become bureaucratized, promoted based on diplomatic and political considerations. Most interesting (for me, anyway), they complained that over the last 10 years, real soldiers have either gone into hiding or left the military due to military reform, while civil servant types have risen to positions of command.
- One general with a front line unit said the military needs more battlefield experience through things like overseas deployments (Marmot’s Note: I can think of a number of places that might fit the bill). Oh, and more bitching about politicians playing political games with the military (and with politicians like this, who can blame them?).
- Lack of public trust hinders the military’s ability to respond boldly to attacks. One general recalled how an Israeli officer once told him that when problems happen in Israel, people unit behind the military, allowing the IDF to make bold decisions. (Marmot’s Note: Sadly, this is not the case here: as the Economist pointed out, “One might expect that this shared sense anxiety would inspire a certain unity. But this being South Korea, opposition politicians are busy attacking the president, Lee Myung-bak, rather than the regime which killed four of their countrymen last week.” Also sadly, the military has not helped itself in building public trust, either.)
- Budget money seems to be going more to personnel costs, accident prevention and soldier welfare rather than boosting the military’s ability to kill people and break things.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Someone ought to ask the officers’ wives how promotions are obtained.
Not knowing any of the wives, I’ll have to ask you.
seouldout, how are promotions obtained?
Promotions are obtained, as in the bureaucracy, partly by ability and partly by willingness to ante up the bribe money necessary to move forward. Every would-be flag officer in the Korean military is presented with a choice to play the game and pay his seniors, or to put his ambitions at risk by not doing so. They’re not all crooks, but the system is thoroughly crooked.
Paying the bribes forward is seen as an investment, as the positions give access to opportunities to convert purchasing authority into personal wealth. Any lawyer in private practice who has seen any aspect of the procurement game will tell you it’s one of the most rotten aspects of Korean governance. While low-level corruption has been cleaned up substantially, military procurement remains a cesspool. And why not? It’s not like there’s an enemy to worry about or anything.
That said, until very recently I was convinced that South Korea’s military prowess was sufficient to ensure success in the event of hostilities. Now I’m kind of worried. This gang doesn’t seem to have much in the way of fighting ability, and it’s due to poor leadership. Soldiers who don’t train, and don’t have decent equipment, cannot win.
Hopefully the loss of the ROKS Cheonan, and the shellacking of Yeonpyong-do, will serve as some kind of wake-up call. The regime up North just may cause some trouble. I hope we have time to prepare. Uncle Sucker is occupied elsewhere so the defense of the Republic of Korea is really up to the Koreans themselves.
It’s not enough to run around in the snow with your shirt off.
Ditto, university professorships, where perhaps it’s even more important since there a few, if any, and always only paltry, opportunities for graft.
And Uncle Sucker is bankrupt, too. Not only are our fighting forces near a point of maximum extension, but there isn’t money in the kitty to pay for a mobilization which would be necessary for the American treaty-defense commitment to be kept. I am 100% convinced North Korea knows this, and is calculating just how much more violence will be necessary to get some real protection money out of the South.
@ carr and spwewer,
Thanks.
What seouldout seems to be suggesting, though, is something other than money is being traded for consideration. Could it really be that seedy?
Watching these guys in action over the last months has certainly also made me feel a lot less safe.
How much it would cost to step up the ROK army game to acceptable level ? Can they afford it ? Wouldn’t it be about the time to discard the draft system and switch to a volounteer-only army ?
I have no knowledge of anything seedier. In the ROK armed forces a wife has a unofficial rank of one higher than her husband, e.g., a colonel’s wife is a one-mugunghwa general. And the wife is the bag woman.
Sperwer notes the the corruption in academia.
You ought to check out the journalists. Someday I’ll tell ya about Hanbo Steel and Hanbo Construction. Funny story about how the bag man skipped town w/ the money rather than sharing it w/ the other journalists, so they exposed Hanbo’s debt and illegal activities. This set off a chain of events which led to more and more companies being exposed for excessive debts. Then the IMF had to come to town.
The wife is almost always the bag-woman. That’s because Korean law winks at the absurd idea that the wife and husband are completely separate with respect to property — any money or assets held by the wife don’t belong to the husband, and importantly cannot be touched to satisfy any obligation of the husband. So they pretend that the wife’s bribe-seeking mischief is undertaken without any knowledge of her hapless man. She was doing what?! Oh, I’m so embarrassed. But you see, I’m not responsible.
You call it absurd, i call it common sense
I am planning on looking at places further south of the city, early this next year, because of all this.
R. Elgin,
Don’t over react. If the norks come south it will be very bad whether ROKA kicks butt or not. Just like on the island there will be a lot of in-accurate projectiles coming South with a much smaller but more accurate amount heading north. Unless you are looking for employment in Mokpo or Busan you will not be out of a strike zone. Even they will get hit with some ballistic strikes and commando raids.
Here’s a realistic plan. Put together a bug out kit complete with basic plan for getting out of Korea. If things look very bad then take a vacation. You can’t live your life in fear and you can’t plan for all the dick moves the norks can do.
I hear you “Hamilton”. I’m not overly worried but I think it might be a good idea to not be so centrally located. Certain areas that have no big targets would be better.
Funny you mention a “bug-out kit”. I have a small one and just recently added a small crowbar to it because I found that during emergencies, many places and access points have locks that would need to be busted. I would love to have one of those great Daewoo assault rifles too since some of the mountains I visit seem to have more wild pigs lately.
Just stick close to Sperwer… He works out and might provide the necessary defensive strategy…
That’d be my plan, anyway… If I knew who he was, was friends with him, and needed good advice…
I’ll probably be stuck with my in-laws, just trying to be invisible…
#13,
I like your crowbar/rifle kit. Add duct tape, a hammer, a six-in-one screwdriver, and I think you’re set.
One of the most vivid nightmares I ever had was a NK invasion which was preceded by a chemical gas attack (and it took place when I was stationed in the ROK – I guess I was reading too many Tom Clancy/Larry . I know that if I lived in The Big City, I’d want to have a kit for a non-NK-invasion emergency.
“That’s because Korean law winks at the absurd idea that the wife and husband are completely separate with respect to property”
Isn’t that normal, what do they do in the US?
I have six dogs, 40kg of dog food, 100 L of stored water, two huge bags of rice, two camping stoves many cylinders of gas and a box of candles. I’ll just solder the door of my apartment shut, ride out the storm and hope not to hear the missile that kills me.
@18 보신탕?
나는 보신탕을 먹지않는다.
전쟁이 나면 내 마음을 바꿀 수 있다.
I have six “rescue” dogs. Actually, I couldn’t hurt them, let alone leave them behind if the sh*t hits the fan. In for a penny, in for a (dog) pound.
I was an exchange student at the Korean AF Staff College for a year and from I could see, most senior officers in the ROKAF get promoted on the basis of their interpersonal skills, not their technical, tactical, or strategic competence. I was astounded at how a lot of the fighter pilot colonels I’ve met lacked basic knowledge about air warfare, stuff even brand-new aircrew in the USAF know. It’s even more amazing in light of the fact that the ROKAF publishes several excellent professional journals (which nobody reads apparently). I assume this sort of thing holds true for the army and navy in the RoK but on the whole RoK Army and Navy officers that I’ve encountered have been more professional. At any rate, in my experience I’d fly into combat with most USAF aircrew colonels I know as they, while rusty, still have it whereas I can only think of one ROKAF colonel I’ve met that I’d fly into combat with.
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