[박용한 배틀그라운드] The Department of Defense, Command, and both front and rear were pierced…軍 boundary failure cruelty

The press room of the Ministry of Defense “opened again.” On the morning of the 16th, news arrived at the front units that the’One Jindo Dog’ was issued to respond to the infiltration operation. The sighs continued. Military authorities were unaware of the’swimming defection’, and the defector was found sleeping covered in fallen leaves.

The 22nd Army Division, responsible for the border operation in Goseong, Gangwon-do, found a North Korean defector who had crossed the military fence in November last year while asleep in a state of asleep, and caused a controversy about’return to stay. Similar accidents were repeated in just three months.

The failure of the 22nd Division’s alerts is not the only thing these days. In 2012, there was also a’Knock defection’, and in October 2009, a man wanted for assault broke through the triple fence of the military demarcation line under the jurisdiction of the 22nd Division. Due to such frequent vigilance failures, this unit is called’the grave of an officer from the Army Academy.’ This is because it is virtually impossible to be dismissed as a result of discipline or to be promoted to the next level.

On the 17th, Defense Minister Seo-wook admitted to the failure of the alert, saying, “The error of the border disease is great” at the general meeting of the National Assembly’s National Defense Council.

In the meantime, there have been several cases in which the truce line was pierced or the first soldier was taken away. Last year, the Ministry of Defense was also pierced. At this point, I have nothing more to say. It is pointed out that even looking at the response after the incident, it is very different from the US military looking for a fundamental solution.

In April 2008, a North Korean military officer who crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, arrived in front of the South Korean military guard post (GP). However, no vigilante discovered it. I waved a white flag and shot seven guns, but it was the same. After waiting for a nap for about two hours, he finally called out a Korean soldier.

The situation was even worse after four years from the’call defection’. On October 2, 2012, someone approached the dormitory (dormitory) of the military personnel guarding the armistice line and knocked on the door. The North Korean soldier came through the wire fence of the forward guard post (GOP). This is also the 22nd Division.

President Moon Jae-in, who visited the’Knock defection’ site during the 2012 presidential candidate, rebuked him, saying, “There was a hole in the security.” However, even with the current government, nothing has changed significantly.

Until June 2019, a small North Korean wooden boat arrived at Samcheok Port, the military authorities had no idea. The CCTV installed in the port was operating normally. However, even after the wooden boat arrived at the breakwater, it was only after receiving a report from the residents that the alert was unsuccessful.

A taxi driver found a North Korean submarine that infiltrated the east coast in 1996, and in 1998, a fisherman was reported and the military dispatched. Nearly 30 years have passed, but the same is true.

One month after the wooden ship incident, the government “confirmed that there was a problem with the operation of the maritime boundary and the operation of available power.” I confirmed it.”

However, even in this swim defection case, the TOD guards were not able to find a North Korean defector approaching the coast. CCTV watchdogs also missed the captured movement.

It doesn’t come only from the north. A North Korean defector who settled in South Korea in July of last year escaped to the lower Han River through a drainage channel under the iron fence near Yeonmijeong, Ganghwa Island, Incheon, and then swam to North Korea.

At this time, after the incident, a major inspection of the drainage was carried out in the entire military, which was responsible for the alert. However, even in this swim defection, North Korean defectors entered through a drainage ditch.

Even the Ministry of Defense cannot be relieved. In the middle of the night in April of last year, a Mercedes car entered the premises of the Ministry of Defense and wandered for about 30 minutes. Major military command facilities such as the Ministry of Defense and Joint Forces are gathered, and the US military base is a key area adjacent to it.

It is an obvious failure of the military police, who was responsible for the defense of the Ministry of Defense at the time. When a licensed vehicle came in, it couldn’t prevent it from coming in tightly. At this time, the invasion of the Ministry of Defense was immediately after the remarks of the Minister of Defense, who apologized for the failure to guard the operational unit.

In March of last year, a man in his 50s who dug into the ground under the fence of the Subangsa air defense camp was discovered an hour later. One day later, then Defense Minister Chung Gyeong-du admitted that “there was negligence in the warfare operation,” emphasizing the desperate feeling that there is no room to withdraw.

Although the Minister himself expressed his “desperate feelings,” it could not prevent a large vehicle from entering the Ministry of Defense, where the Minister’s office is located.

Maybe the command post boundary is more lax. Prior to the invasion of the Subangsa air defense camp, the response took place almost two hours after the two protesters entered the Jeju naval base at the beginning of the same month.

In January, two months earlier, I couldn’t find an old man in his 70s leisurely entering the main gate of the Jinhae naval base. The old man, who was roaming the unit, was discovered only after an hour and a half.

I can’t believe it. In July 2019, in the Navy’s 2nd Fleet, a guard post guard who left the workplace was mistaken for a spy, and there was a disturbance in the unit. Fearing punishment for leaving the guard, they tried to cover up the case with a false confession, which intensified the controversy.

The headquarters of the Marine Corps division was also pierced. In February 2015, in the 1st Division of the Pohang Marine Corps, a civilian vehicle was churning around the unit. Ignored the restraints of the guards and entered. The troops started searching, but they couldn’t find it until the driver himself appeared at the guard post about 10 minutes later.

There were also frequent arms takeovers. In July 2001, two rifles were stolen from the arsenal of the Jeonbuk Recruitment Education University. In April 2010, a sales book that distributed live ammunition and blank ammunition stolen from the shooting range of Yeoncheon military base in Gyeonggi-do was arrested after three years.

In some cases, military personnel gave their own weapons. In January 1997, a man in his 40s, who declared himself an Army Major, approached the 51st Division of the Army. After briefing the situation in one word, “I’m Major Baek of the Legion,” he lent me a rifle and 30 live ammunition.

Even in the US military, vigilance failures occur. In June 2017, a high-tech Aegis destroyer, the Fitzgerald, collided with a large Philippine container ship on the southern coast of Japan, killing seven crew members.

At this time, the major accident in which the captain was also injured gave a great shock to the US military. But two months later, the Aegis McCain crashed into a Liberian-loaded tanker off the east coast of Singapore, killing 10 sailors.

The Aegis ship equipped with a high-tech radar to block missiles flying from invisible places was an accident that could not avoid a large ship right in front of the nose. It is concluded that a collision accident occurred due to the carelessness of the watchdog officer.

In May of the same year, the Lake Champlain, which was training in the southern sea of ​​Ulleungdo, also collided with a fishing boat. At this time, the US Navy issued a report after more than six months of investigation. “It was caused by lack of training and lack of command, and it was an accident that could have been avoided if done properly.”

The US Navy decided to add destroyers and troops to the 7th Fleet. It has also devised measures to reduce the naval’s overwork, such as dispatching ships belonging to the US mainland Coast Guard.

Here, the difference between the US and Korean military is revealed. Unlike the ROK military, which aims to avoid immediate criticism by reducing the ripples of the case or focusing only on the issue of alert operations, the US military attempts to solve the fundamental problem.

Neglect of vigilance cannot avoid discipline. Lessons should be built with meticulous censorship and heavy punishment. However, there is a greater structural problem in assigning responsibility only to soldiers in the field unit.

In the army bordering the front, one division is responsible for an average of 25 km. The 22nd Division, where the swimming defection incident occurred, is responsible for the four times longer boundary line. A total of 100km, including the iron fence bay, 30km above the ground GOP and 70km off the coast. It is a straight street and is about the same as from Seoul to Cheonan.

In the case of the Marine Corps 2nd Division, which broke out last year in a drainage road, the 2nd Division of the Marine Corps is also responsible for the borderline of as little as 100km and as much as 250km. This area is the only armistice unit that is operated by the Marine Corps, not the Army.

It is pointed out from inside and outside the military that “It is irresponsible to keep an ant from passing by.” It is pointed out that it requires fewer troops for missions that cannot be achieved in reality.

In addition, there are concerns that the front unit is the unit that must fight the North Korean attack and fight, but it is mobilized by the ’24-hour security’ and there is no time to pay attention to the preparation for an important battle.

The large military bases in the navy, air force and rear area are large, but the troops stationed are very small. As the population declines in the future, a significant decrease in troops will make it more difficult to deploy vigilance operations.

The U.S. military leaves out-of-base security to a private military company (PMC). While promoting’Defense Reform 2.0′, the Ministry of National Defense decided to expand the’utilization of civilian personnel (wetting, snow removal, etc.)’ The target of application should be further expanded.

On the 17th, Seo said, “The concentration of the guards on the field and the integrated efforts of the leaders including myself to command him were lacking.” There is a need to prepare a fundamental alternative rather than a soldering prescription.

There should never be a failure of the vigilant operation of’I lost my sleep’. It is also important to note that using combatants as guards only benefits the enemy. Responding to drunkards It is the same as the grievance of the police who cannot dispatch to the scene of a violent incident.

Reporter Park Yonghan [email protected]