Korean Information Service, The Defense Ministry said on Thursday (April 28) that it will adopt a French-style military reform which calls for a reduction of the military forces, among other measures.
In a report on policy programs to President Roh Moo-hyun, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said the ministry will submit a bill aimed at legislating military reform methods to the National Assembly by October, after finalizing detailed measures by August.
“We will benchmark France's reform measures, as part of efforts to pursue military reform on a coherent basis within the legal framework,” Yoon said.
“But the measures will be implemented cautiously in accordance with the security circumstances surrounding the Korean Peninsula,” he said.
The minister stressed the plan does not mean the country is following France's reform methods in detail, saying, “We have a different security situation from France's.”
Cheong Wa Dae reaffirmed its support for the plan.
“We are seeking military reform with adequate legislation through national consensus and in a predictable manner,” presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo said in a press briefing.
In 1997, France launched a three-phased military reform plan, which calls for transforming its military into one to get involved in international conflicts and disputes from its traditional role of territorial defense. Under the eight-year plan, France seeks to downsize the country's troop size to 430,000 from the current 570,000 and integrate the current 160 military bases into 88.
The plan also calls for increased defense budget to build high-tech military capabilities and improve troops' mobility to offset the troop cut.
Civilian posts in the ministry will increase on a gradual basis, as part of efforts to reform the Army-dominated military, Yoon said.
Other reform measures include ones to strengthen the role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and balance the number of troops for the Army, Navy and Air Force to enhance balanced development of the country's military.
The envisaged plan will also require the increase of defense budget to 2.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to ensure self-reliant deterrence capabilities against North Korea.
To improve the military's promotion system, the ministry will set up a task force comprised of representatives from civic groups and experts, to prevent military chiefs hold sway over their authorities in promotion procedures, ministry officials said.
The task force will operate from the second half of this year, they said.
