Commander Substituted for Iraq Dispatched ‘Seohui’ Corps

The Joint Chiefs of Staff reported on the 15th that the Korean Army `Seohui Corps` Commander Colonel Choi will be relieved of duty. His unit was dispatched to take part in the post-war recovery of Iraq and to support US/UK joint forces.

The successor of Colonel Choi is Colonel Jeong Gwang-chun (KMA 32nd graduate) Colonel Choi was supposed to be on duty for six months until the end of October, and this is the first time that a dispatched commander has been relieved while on active command.

The investigation by the Joint Chiefs of Staff discovered that Colonel Choi punished his 70 or so military engineers physically by ordering them to assume a ‘push-up posture’ in front of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians. This was regarded with contempt, and his men rebelled against him. Also, the severe physical stress that occurred as a result the troop`s forced drill performance in 50-degree heat was cited as a reason for the soldier`s reaction.

A source related to the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “Colonel Choi`s punishment of the soldiers resulted in their disobeying his orders to ‘return to the corps immediately’.” In addition, the Joint Chiefs of Staff side clarified that the soldiers were working in a spot about 10 minutes away (by vehicle) from the barracks, and there were gun reports heard. This person also said that the relationship with the government offices in Iraq was not good, which is an essential factor when going for service for the people.

The source added “No, never” to the question “Is the dissatisfaction of the young soldiers upon being dispatched to an unpopular war one of the causes for the problem in the command system?”

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com