[외안구단] Successive vigilance failure disrupts defense reform?…..”Review of postponement of the dismantling of the 8th Army Corps”

Originally planned to be consolidated and abolished with the 3rd Corps in accordance with Defense Reform 2.0
‘Once postponement’ due to failure of the borders such as’Swim Vietnam’ and sluggish results of combined training

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According to the Defense Reform 2.0 Plan, the 8th Army Corps, which was scheduled to be dismantled at the end of this year, is expected to be maintained for the time being. Initially, after the end of the year, some divisions were scheduled to be incorporated into the 3rd corps, but that period was delayed. A Defense Ministry official told JTBC today that “we are considering a plan to postpone the time of the dismantling of the 8th Legion from the end of this year to 2023 from the end of this year.” Although the exact timing and plan have not yet been determined, it seems clear to us that the dismantling of the 8th Corps at this point would have a negative impact on military forces and east coast border operations.

◇’Tomb of the Stars’ 22nd Division,’precisely diagnosed’ for successive vigilance failures
It is analyzed that the Ministry of Defense’s decision to postpone the dismantling of the 8th Corps was caused by a series of vigilance failures within its jurisdiction. Since last month, the Ministry of Defense has been conducting high-intensity detailed diagnosis on the 8th Corps and the 22nd Division, which is a subordinate unit, since last month after the’Swim Vietnam’ incident in which a North Korean man swam over the sea in February. The diagnosis was carried out from various angles, including the troops and unit structures of the 22nd Division, the scope of the operational responsibility area, and the performance diagnosis of the scientific boundary system. At that time, experts from the Defense Reform Office of the Ministry of National Defense personally visited the 22nd Division and the 8th Division, a senior unit.
As a result of the diagnosis, it was concluded that there were many points to be supplemented due to the nature of the missions of the 22nd and 8th Corps, which must be in charge of the front fence and the coastal boundary at the same time, and it was determined that the dissolution of the 8th Corps was premature. In particular, there seems to have been a concern that the dismantling of the 8th Corps could be pointed out as the cause of the weakening of military power in a situation where there are criticisms that the military boundaries are one after another.

Initially, the plan for dismantling the 8th Corps was promoted as part of Defense Reform 2.0, which aims to simplify the command system to prepare for the reduction of active duty soldiers, and to strengthen the advanced scientific alert system instead.
However, there were concerns that if the 8th Division was dismantled and the 23rd Division headquarters under its subordinates was removed according to this plan, the area of ​​responsibility and the burden of vigilance of the 22nd Division remaining naturally will increase.

Still, the 22nd Division is called the’Tomb of the Stars’ because of the various incidents that occurred within its jurisdiction, and seven of the previous division leaders were dismissed from office in a row. Even today, the 22nd Division is known to have 100km of railroad fences and coastal boundary areas such as the Demilitarized Zone (GP) and GOP.

◇The results of ROK-US combined exercises applied to the 8th Corps dissolution scenario were sluggish
There is an analysis that some of the results of the ROK-US combined exercise last month also contributed to the postponement of the dismantling of the 8th Corps by the Ministry of Defense.
In the first half of this year’s combined command post training training, the 8th and 3rd corps, originally scheduled for the end of this year, was applied to the operational scenario for the first time. It is known that the counterattack rate was slower than that of other corps during the counterattack training stage as well as defensive training assuming the North Korean invasion situation.

In the end, the decision to postpone the dismantling of the 8th Legion can be seen as the Ministry of National Defense opting for’stability’ rather than immediate reform. As we have a grace period, we look forward to finding a plan for efficient military restructuring in the meantime.