Korea: August 1, 2004

Archives

South Korea is undertaking a long overdue reform of its armed forces. American military commanders have been suggesting this for decades, but without much success. Until the 1990s, the generals ran the country, having taken over in the 1960s. Despite the introduction of civilian rule, the generals still tended to do what they wanted. This included a fair amount of corruption in spending defense funds. In recent years, many corrupt officers have been charged and convicted. This has discredited the generals, and made it possible to replace a lot of them and change the direction of the South Korean military affairs. For one thing, more emphasis will be put on the air force and navy, and more realistic training and war plans for everyone. While South Korea still depends heavily on conscripts (serving for two years), many South Korean officers have noted the greater of American military units, who are staffed only with volunteers. 

 

Article Archive

Korea: Current 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 


X

ad
0
20

Help Keep Us Soaring

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage. A contribution is not a donation that you can deduct at tax time, but a form of crowdfunding. We store none of your information when you contribute..
Subscribe   Contribute   Close