South Korea’s military said Tuesday it will abolish or scale down hundreds of routine, non-combat activities as part of a reform drive. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s military said Tuesday it will abolish or scale down hundreds of routine, non-combat activities as part of a reform drive.
The country’s 625,000-strong armed forces have organized or supported 953 ceremonies, festivals and other events nationwide every year that are not directly related to combat readiness, while North Korea’s military threats keep increasing.
The Ministry of National Defense has decided to ditch 60 of them and reduce the size of 299 other events, making up 38 percent of the total.
Among those to be discarded are a youth golf competition hosted by the Army chief of staff, an Air Force autumn festival and the Navy’s ceremony to mark a historic victory against Japan in the late 1590s.
Change of command ceremonies and major anniversary celebrations will be simplified, as well.
The measures are aimed at creating conditions in which the nation’s troops can concentrate all efforts on combat preparedness and relevant operations, said the ministry.
The move is expected to cut the military’s budget by around 375 million won (US$346,000) and keep more than 28,800 soldiers focused on their missions per year, it added.
(Yonhap)
