• Title/Summary/Keyword: Regional conflicts

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A Study on the Development of the Korean Army's International Peace Operation :Based on the analysis of African regional conflicts (한국군의 국제평화활동 발전방안 : 아프리카 지역분쟁 분석을 기반으로)

  • Lee, Kang Kyong;Seol, Hyeon Ju
    • Convergence Security Journal
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    • v.19 no.3
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    • pp.117-126
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    • 2019
  • Historically, the United Nations supported the establishment of the government of the Republic of Korea after liberation and played a decisive role in defending liberal democracy and peace by sending peacekeepers during the Korean War. With the political and military support of the United Nations, the Republic of Korea was able to grow into the world's 10th largest economy today, and now it is time to fulfill its responsibilities and roles to contribute to peace and prosperity in the international community as a middle power. The international peace operations of the United Nations are comprehensive concepts encompassing conflict prevention, peacemaking, peace enforcement, peacekeeping, and peace building, and are implemented in accordance with the Security Council resolutions based on the UN Charter. In order to effectively respond to changes in the international security environment and conflict factors after the post-Cold War, the UN promoted a paradigm shift in international peace operations through the 2000 Brahim Report and the 2015 High-Level Panel Report on UN Peace Activities. Therefore, this study aims to assess the Korean military's international peace operations at a limited level, such as reconstruction assistance and humanitarian assistance, and to present development measures for more active participation as a middle power in the future. To this end, we reviewed the history and specificities of conflict, the conflicting factors after the post-Cold War, and the new paradigm of UN peace operations, focusing on the African region where a number of UN peacekeeping missions are stationed. And it also suggested ways to develop international peace operations that the Korean military should pursue in the future.

The Analysis of Regional Stressor Level on Personal Factor and Reaction According of Radiological Technologist (방사선사의 개인요인과 반응에 따른 지역별 스트레스원 수준 분석)

  • Jung Hong-Ryang;Son Bu-Soon;Lim Cheong-Hwan
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.31 no.4 s.85
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    • pp.266-279
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    • 2005
  • The present study was conducted to analyze the causes of stress on the part of Korean radiological technologists depending on their working environments. For this purpose, 890 questionnaires were distributed to and collected from radiological technologists who were working at 44 general hospitals in 16 cities and provinces of Korea during the period from the mid July to the end of August 2003. The collected data were compared between regions, divided into the capital, metropolitan, medium and small cities, whose results are as follows: 1. As factors affecting working conditions, drinking was found to exert more influence on radiological technologists in small- and medium-sized cities, while loyalty to immediate seniors and organizations was the one producing greater influence on them in metropolitan cities than other cities. Overall, position, job satisfaction and physical condition seemed to have a great effect on them (p<0.001).2. In terms of factors related to their roles, job satisfaction and physical condition played in general a greater role for radiological technologists (p<0.001). Immediate seniors and behavioral conducts were also found to have a lot influence on them (p<0.01).3. As for job conflicts, the kind of medical institutions seemed to exercise a great deal of impact on radiological technologists (p<0.05), while colleagues, immediate seniors, job satisfaction and physical conditions also produced a lot of influence on them as a whole (p<0.001).4. Regarding job autonomy, radiological technologists were found to have been less influenced by position in metropolitan cities and by immediate seniors in the capital city (p<0.01). As a whole, however, age and job satisfaction acted as decisive factors of influence on them (p<0.001). 5. Among factors related to job burden, gender played a bigger role for radiological technologists in metropolitan cities as the kind of medical institutions did in small- and medium-sized cities. Centrally, job satisfaction and behavioral conducts exercised a great impact on them (p<0.001).6. Job stability seemed to be more immensely linked to gender and physical conditions in metropolitan cities whereas position did more in the capital city. In general, how ever, job satisfaction produced a far-reaching (p<0.001).

Analysis of Group Attitudes toward the Development Plan of the Sobaeksan Jarak-gil Ecological Traill (소백산 자락길 생태탐방로 개발계획에 대한 각 집단 태도분석)

  • Park, Kum-Mi;Jung, Tae-Yeol
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.42 no.2
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    • pp.41-51
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    • 2014
  • A self-administered questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews were conducted on 150 local residents belonging to seven villages, 160 visitors and 86 experts in order to analyze the attitudes of groups of local residents, visitors as well as experts toward the development plan of Sobaeksan Jarak-gil. Reliability analysis and one-way ANOVA were performed on the data collected by a questionnaire survey using IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0 after coding. The Duncan Test was conducted as a post-hoc test. Based on the analytical results, in economic terms, the expert group expected an increase in income, improvement in living standards and increase in expenditure for the maintenance of local infrastructure. In environmental terms, the visitor group was highly concerned about the disruption of the local natural environment and ecosystem, destruction of local properties and landscape, increase in water/soil/air pollution and increase in solid waste and noise. In social and cultural terms, the expert group had higher expectation for excavation of traditional cultural properties, instillation of local patriotism and pride, and the visitor group was highly concerned about a rise in crime, destruction of indigenous culture/increase in imitations, and induction of conflicts between residents. It is estimated that these results will be used as basic data for establishing the development plan of the mountainous ecological trail reflecting opinions of various groups.

Analysis of the Spatial Effect of Gated Communities and Improvement of Urban Publicness (게이티드 커뮤니티의 공간적 영향 분석 및 도시 공공성 개선방안)

  • KIM, JiSook;KIM, Ho-Yong
    • Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.150-163
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    • 2022
  • Recently, the gated community has been increasing due to various reasons such as demand for differentiated areas and security, but various problems have been raised, including regional conflicts, traffic restrictions and disconnection of surrounding areas. Therefore, this study empirically considered what kind of spatial effect the gated community has on the surrounding area by analyzing the vitality using floating population big data and analyzing pedestrian accessibility using network analysis and social network analysis. As a result, it was found that the overall vitality in the study area was greatly affected by the land use and the building use. However, focusing on apartment complexes, even in the same land use, when the form of the complex is open to the outside, there is a lot of floating population, so the vitality is high. In terms of accessibility, assuming that the gated community is open, it was found that as the physical connectivity improved, there were more roads for pedestrians to choose from, and the accessibility improved as traffic and exchanges occurred in the disconnected space. The value of improving property rights and residential environment is also precious, but it is necessary to review how to reflect the improvement of local permeability in enhancing the publicness of cities and the value and direction of communities that can coexist with the region.

A Study on Factors Influencing Collaboration with Local Communities (지역사회와의 협업 영향요인에 대한 연구)

  • Lee, Hyangsoo;Lee, Seong-Hoon;Jung, Yonghun
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.27-34
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    • 2022
  • In this study, the practical implementation process and performance of cooperation were analyzed by analyzing the cases of collaboration to resolve conflicts related to the installation of military facilities in the cultural heritage protection zone in P city. In addition, through this, factors affecting collaboration were derived. The collaboration case within the cultural heritage protection area of P city, the subject of this study, is an excellent case of collaboration, and in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants in the collaboration. Through these in-depth interviews, the background, collaboration process, performance and success factors of the collaboration task within the P city cultural heritage protection area were examined. The success factors of cooperation related to the installation of military facilities in the cultural heritage protection zone of P city were derived as follows. First, it is important to form a consensus for collaboration, and for this, it is very important to have a common goal of community development. Second, support at the institutional level is essential to successfully induce collaboration. Not only the head of the institution, but also the middle managers need interest in collaboration and various support for it. Third, formal and informal communication between collaboration participants is very important. For collaboration, formal as well as informal communication are important. Through these results of this study, it is judged that it can contribute to inducing collaboration in the local community in the future.

PRC Maritime Operational Capability and the Task for the ROK Military (중국군의 해양작전능력과 한국군의 과제)

  • Kim, Min-Seok
    • Strategy21
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    • s.33
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    • pp.65-112
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    • 2014
  • Recent trends show that the PRC has stepped aside its "army-centered approach" and placed greater emphasis on its Navy and Air Force for a wider range of operations, thereby reducing its ground force and harnessing its economic power and military technology into naval development. A quantitative growth of the PLA Navy itself is no surprise as this is not a recent phenomenon. Now is the time to pay closer attention to the level of PRC naval force's performance and the extent of its warfighting capacity in the maritime domain. It is also worth asking what China can do with its widening naval power foundation. In short, it is time to delve into several possible scenarios I which the PRC poses a real threat. With this in mind, in Section Two the paper seeks to observe the construction progress of PRC's naval power and its future prospects up to the year 2020, and categorize time frame according to its major force improvement trends. By analyzing qualitative improvements made over time, such as the scale of investment and the number of ships compared to increase in displacement (tonnage), this paper attempts to identify salient features in the construction of naval power. Chapter Three sets out performance evaluation on each type of PRC naval ships as well as capabilities of the Navy, Air Force, the Second Artillery (i.e., strategic missile forces) and satellites that could support maritime warfare. Finall, the concluding chapter estimates the PRC's maritime warfighting capability as anticipated in respective conflict scenarios, and considers its impact on the Korean Peninsula and proposes the directions ROK should steer in response. First of all, since the 1980s the PRC navy has undergone transitions as the focus of its military strategic outlook shifted from ground warfare to maritime warfare, and within 30 years of its effort to construct naval power while greatly reducing the size of its ground forces, the PRC has succeeded in building its naval power next to the U.S.'s in the world in terms of number, with acquisition of an aircraft carrier, Chinese-version of the Aegis, submarines and so on. The PRC also enjoys great potentials to qualitatively develop its forces such as indigenous aircraft carriers, next-generation strategic submarines, next-generation destroyers and so forth, which is possible because the PRC has accumulated its independent production capabilities in the process of its 30-year-long efforts. Secondly, one could argue that ROK still has its chances of coping with the PRC in naval power since, despite its continuous efforts, many estimate that the PRC naval force is roughly ten or more years behind that of superpowers such as the U.S., on areas including radar detection capability, EW capability, C4I and data-link systems, doctrines on force employment as well as tactics, and such gap cannot be easily overcome. The most probable scenarios involving the PRC in sea areas surrounding the Korean Peninsula are: first, upon the outbreak of war in the peninsula, the PRC may pursue military intervention through sea, thereby undermining efforts of the ROK-U.S. combined operations; second, ROK-PRC or PRC-Japan conflicts over maritime jurisdiction or ownership over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands could inflict damage to ROK territorial sovereignty or economic gains. The PRC would likely attempt to resolve the conflict employing blitzkrieg tactics before U.S. forces arrive on the scene, while at the same time delaying and denying access of the incoming U.S. forces. If this proves unattainable, the PRC could take a course of action adopting "long-term attrition warfare," thus weakening its enemy's sustainability. All in all, thiss paper makes three proposals on how the ROK should respond. First, modern warfare as well as the emergent future warfare demonstrates that the center stage of battle is no longer the domestic territory, but rather further away into the sea and space. In this respect, the ROKN should take advantage of the distinct feature of battle space on the peninsula, which is surrounded by the seas, and obtain capabilities to intercept more than 50 percent of the enemy's ballistic missiles, including those of North Korea. In tandem with this capacity, employment of a large scale of UAV/F Carrier for Kill Chain operations should enhance effectiveness. This is because conditions are more favorable to defend from sea, on matters concerning accuracy rates against enemy targets, minimized threat of friendly damage, and cost effectiveness. Second, to maintain readiness for a North Korean crisis where timely deployment of US forces is not possible, the ROKN ought to obtain capabilities to hold the enemy attack at bay while deterring PRC naval intervention. It is also argued that ROKN should strengthen its power so as to protect national interests in the seas surrounding the peninsula without support from the USN, should ROK-PRC or ROK-Japan conflict arise concerning maritime jurisprudence. Third, the ROK should fortify infrastructures for independent construction of naval power and expand its R&D efforts, and for this purpose, the ROK should make the most of the advantages stemming from the ROK-U.S. alliance inducing active support from the United States. The rationale behind this argument is that while it is strategically effective to rely on alliance or jump on the bandwagon, the ultimate goal is always to acquire an independent response capability as much as possible.

Limitations of National Responsibility and its Application on Marine Environmental Pollution beyond Borders -Focused on the Effects of China's Three Gorges Dam on the Marine Environment in the East China Sea- (국경을 넘는 해양환경오염에 대한 국가책임과 적용의 한계 -중국의 산샤댐 건설로 인한 동중국해 해양환경 영향을 중심으로-)

  • Yang, Hee Cheol
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.37 no.4
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    • pp.341-356
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    • 2015
  • A nation has a sovereign right to develop and use its natural resources according to its policies with regard to development and the relevant environment. A nation also has an obligation not to harm other countries or damage environments of neighboring countries as consequences of such actions of developments or use of natural resources. However, international precedents induce a nation to take additional actions not to cause more damages from the specific acts causing environmental damages beyond national borders, when such acts have economic and social importance. That is to say that there is a tendency to resolve such issues in a way to promote the balance between the mutual interests by allowing such actions to continue. A solution to China's Three Gorges Dam dilemma based on a soft law approach is more credible than relying on a good faith approach of national responsibilities and international legal proceedings since the construction and operation of the dam falls within the category of exercising national sovereign rights. If a large scale construction project such as the Three Gorges Dam or operation of a nuclear power plant causes or may cause environmental damage beyond the border of a nation engaged in such an undertaking, countries affected by this undertaking should jointly monitor the environmental effects in a spirit of cooperation rather than trying to stop the construction and should seek cooperative solutions of mutual understanding to establish measures to prevent further damages. If China's Three Gorges Dam construction and operation cause or contain the possibility of causing serious damages to marine environment, China cannot set aside its national responsibility to meet international obligations if China is aware of or knows about the damage that has occurred or may occur but fail to prevent, minimize, reverse or eliminate additional chances of such damages, or fails to put in place measures in order to prevent the recurrence of such damages. However, Korea must be able to prove a causal relationship between the relevant actions and resulting damages if it is to raise objections to the construction or request certain damage-prevention actions against crucial adverse effects on the marine environment out of respect for China's right to develop resources and acts of use thereof. Therefore, it is essential to cumulate continuous monitoring and evaluations information pertaining to marine environmental changes and impacts or responses of affected waters as well as acquisition of scientific baseline data with observed changes in such baseline. As China has adopted a somewhat nonchalant attitude toward taking adequate actions to protect against marine pollution risks or adverse effects caused by the construction and operation of China's Three Gorges Dam, there is a need to persuade China to adopt a more active stance and become involved in the monitoring and co-investigation of the Yellow Sea in order to protect the marine environment. Moreover, there is a need to build a regular environmental monitoring system that includes the evaluation of environmental effects beyond borders. The Espoo Convention can serve as a mechanism to ease potential conflicts of national interest in the Northeast Asian waters where political and historical sensitivities are acute. Especially, the recent diplomatic policy advanced by Korea and China can be implemented as an important example of gentle cooperation as the policy tool of choice is based on regional cooperation or cooperation between different regions.

A Study on Family Services and Program Administration of Family Centers Related to Family Diversity: Focusing on Family Center Practitioners (가족다양성을 고려한 가족센터 사업 운영에 대한 연구: 가족센터 실무자를 중심으로)

  • Koh, Sun-Kang;Son, Seohee;Seo, Chanran
    • Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.19-33
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    • 2023
  • The purpose of this study is to explore the family diversity-related service experiences of Family Center practitioners under the main policy goal of recognizing family diversity set out in the Fourth Master Plan for Healthy Families. To this end, a focus group interview was conducted with 12 Family Center practitioners in multiple cities and districts who had extensive family service experiences. The focus group interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The analysis found that Family Center practitioners understood the concept of family diversity according to the changes in the family policy environment and applied it in various forms to the administration of their respective centers. However, while administering the family support services considering the aspect of family diversity, they experienced a lack of resources for various family service programs, conflicts between each family service goal and the family diversity-related program goal, and difficulties in identifying the recipients. To expand family diversity-related services in the future, the interviewees emphasized the need for education programs about family diversity targeted at Family Center practitioners, and family support services that reflect regional characteristics. They also stressed the need for changes in program operation methods, such as expanding family diversity education, and developing family service programs appropriate for diverse families. Lastly, they highlighted the need for mounting a publicity campaign for Family Centers, widening the target recipients of family programs, and expanding the budget for the administration of the family diversity project. The results of this study can serve as a basis for restructuring family services for the application and expansion of family diversity practices, and as educational material that can be used to strengthen the capacity of family service practitioners to plan and execute family support programs that take family diversity into consideration.

Smart Store in Smart City: The Development of Smart Trade Area Analysis System Based on Consumer Sentiments (Smart Store in Smart City: 소비자 감성기반 상권분석 시스템 개발)

  • Yoo, In-Jin;Seo, Bong-Goon;Park, Do-Hyung
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.25-52
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    • 2018
  • This study performs social network analysis based on consumer sentiment related to a location in Seoul using data reflecting consumers' web search activities and emotional evaluations associated with commerce. The study focuses on large commercial districts in Seoul. In addition, to consider their various aspects, social network indexes were combined with the trading area's public data to verify factors affecting the area's sales. According to R square's change, We can see that the model has a little high R square value even though it includes only the district's public data represented by static data. However, the present study confirmed that the R square of the model combined with the network index derived from the social network analysis was even improved much more. A regression analysis of the trading area's public data showed that the five factors of 'number of market district,' 'residential area per person,' 'satisfaction of residential environment,' 'rate of change of trade,' and 'survival rate over 3 years' among twenty two variables. The study confirmed a significant influence on the sales of the trading area. According to the results, 'residential area per person' has the highest standardized beta value. Therefore, 'residential area per person' has the strongest influence on commercial sales. In addition, 'residential area per person,' 'number of market district,' and 'survival rate over 3 years' were found to have positive effects on the sales of all trading area. Thus, as the number of market districts in the trading area increases, residential area per person increases, and as the survival rate over 3 years of each store in the trading area increases, sales increase. On the other hand, 'satisfaction of residential environment' and 'rate of change of trade' were found to have a negative effect on sales. In the case of 'satisfaction of residential environment,' sales increase when the satisfaction level is low. Therefore, as consumer dissatisfaction with the residential environment increases, sales increase. The 'rate of change of trade' shows that sales increase with the decreasing acceleration of transaction frequency. According to the social network analysis, of the 25 regional trading areas in Seoul, Yangcheon-gu has the highest degree of connection. In other words, it has common sentiments with many other trading areas. On the other hand, Nowon-gu and Jungrang-gu have the lowest degree of connection. In other words, they have relatively distinct sentiments from other trading areas. The social network indexes used in the combination model are 'density of ego network,' 'degree centrality,' 'closeness centrality,' 'betweenness centrality,' and 'eigenvector centrality.' The combined model analysis confirmed that the degree centrality and eigenvector centrality of the social network index have a significant influence on sales and the highest influence in the model. 'Degree centrality' has a negative effect on the sales of the districts. This implies that sales decrease when holding various sentiments of other trading area, which conflicts with general social myths. However, this result can be interpreted to mean that if a trading area has low 'degree centrality,' it delivers unique and special sentiments to consumers. The findings of this study can also be interpreted to mean that sales can be increased if the trading area increases consumer recognition by forming a unique sentiment and city atmosphere that distinguish it from other trading areas. On the other hand, 'eigenvector centrality' has the greatest effect on sales in the combined model. In addition, the results confirmed a positive effect on sales. This finding shows that sales increase when a trading area is connected to others with stronger centrality than when it has common sentiments with others. This study can be used as an empirical basis for establishing and implementing a city and trading area strategy plan considering consumers' desired sentiments. In addition, we expect to provide entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs entering the trading area with sentiments possessed by those in the trading area and directions into the trading area considering the district-sentiment structure.

The lesson From Korean War (한국전쟁의 교훈과 대비 -병력수(兵力數) 및 부대수(部隊數)를 중심으로-)

  • Yoon, Il-Young
    • Journal of National Security and Military Science
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    • s.8
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    • pp.49-168
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    • 2010
  • Just before the Korean War, the total number of the North Korean troops was 198,380, while that of the ROK(Republic of Korea) army troops 105,752. That is, the total number of the ROK army troops at that time was 53.3% of the total number of the North Korean army. As of December 2008, the total number of the North Korean troops is estimated to be 1,190,000, while that of the ROK troops is 655,000, so the ROK army maintains 55.04% of the total number of the North Korean troops. If the ROK army continues to reduce its troops according to [Military Reform Plan 2020], the total number of its troops will be 517,000 m 2020. If North Korea maintains the current status(l,190,000 troops), the number of the ROK troops will be 43.4% of the North Korean army. In terms of units, just before the Korean War, the number of the ROK army divisions and regiments was 80% and 44.8% of North Korean army. As of December 2008, North Korea maintains 86 divisions and 69 regiments. Compared to the North Korean army, the ROK army maintains 46 Divisions (53.4% of North Korean army) and 15 regiments (21.3% of North Korean army). If the ROK army continue to reduce the military units according to [Military Reform Plan 2020], the number of ROK army divisions will be 28(13 Active Division, 4 Mobilization Divisions and 11 Local Reserve Divisions), while that of the North Korean army will be 86 in 2020. In that case, the number of divisions of the ROK army will be 32.5% of North Korean army. During the Korean war, North Korea suddenly invaded the Republic of Korea and occupied its capital 3 days after the war began. At that time, the ROK army maintained 80% of army divisions, compared to the North Korean army. The lesson to be learned from this is that, if the ROK army is forced to disperse its divisions because of the simultaneous invasion of North Korea and attack of guerrillas in home front areas, the Republic of Korea can be in a serious military danger, even though it maintains 80% of military divisions of North Korea. If the ROK army promotes the plans in [Military Reform Plan 2020], the number of military units of the ROK army will be 32.5% of that of the North Korean army. This ratio is 2.4 times lower than that of the time when the Korean war began, and in this case, 90% of total military power should be placed in the DMZ area. If 90% of military power is placed in the DMZ area, few troops will be left for the defense of home front. In addition, if the ROK army continues to reduce the troops, it can allow North Korea to have asymmetrical superiority in military force and it will eventually exert negative influence on the stability and peace of the Korean peninsular. On the other hand, it should be reminded that, during the Korean War, the Republic of Korea was attacked by North Korea, though it kept 53.3% of troops, compared to North Korea. It should also be reminded that, as of 2008, the ROK army is defending its territory with the troops 55.04% of North Korea. Moreover, the national defense is assisted by 25,120 troops of the US Forces in Korea. In case the total number of the ROK troops falls below 43.4% of the North Korean army, it may cause social unrest about the national security and may lead North Korea's misjudgement. Besides, according to Lanchester strategy, the party with weaker military power (60% compared to the party with stronger military power) has the 4.1% of winning possibility. Therefore, if we consider the fact that the total number of the ROK army troops is 55.04% of that of the North Korean army, the winning possibility of the ROK army is not higher than 4.1%. If the total number of ROK troops is reduced to 43.4% of that of North Korea, the winning possibility will be lower and the military operations will be in critically difficult situation. [Military Reform Plan 2020] rums at the reduction of troops and units of the ground forces under the policy of 'select few'. However, the problem is that the financial support to achieve this goal is not secured. Therefore, the promotion of [Military Reform Plan 2020] may cause the weakening of military defence power in 2020. Some advanced countries such as Japan, UK, Germany, and France have promoted the policy of 'select few'. However, what is to be noted is that the national security situation of those countries is much different from that of Korea. With the collapse of the Soviet Unions and European communist countries, the military threat of those European advanced countries has almost disappeared. In addition, the threats those advanced countries are facing are not wars in national level, but terrorism in international level. To cope with the threats like terrorism, large scaled army trops would not be necessary. So those advanced European countries can promote the policy of 'select few'. In line with this, those European countries put their focuses on the development of military sections that deal with non-military operations and protection from unspecified enemies. That is, those countries are promoting the policy of 'select few', because they found that the policy is suitable for their national security environment. Moreover, since they are pursuing common interest under the European Union(EU) and they can form an allied force under NATO, it is natural that they are pursing the 'select few' policy. At present, NATO maintains the larger number of troops(2,446,000) than Russia(l,027,000) to prepare for the potential threat of Russia. The situation of japan is also much different from that of Korea. As a country composed of islands, its prime military focus is put on the maritime defense. Accordingly, the development of ground force is given secondary focus. The japanese government promotes the policy to develop technology-concentrated small size navy and air-forces, instead of maintaining large-scaled ground force. In addition, because of the 'Peace Constitution' that was enacted just after the end of World War II, japan cannot maintain troops more than 240,000. With the limited number of troops (240,000), japan has no choice but to promote the policy of 'select few'. However, the situation of Korea is much different from the situations of those countries. The Republic of Korea is facing the threat of the North Korean Army that aims at keeping a large-scale military force. In addition, the countries surrounding Korea are also super powers containing strong military forces. Therefore, to cope with the actual threat of present and unspecified threat of future, the importance of maintaining a carefully calculated large-scale military force cannot be denied. Furthermore, when considering the fact that Korea is in a peninsular, the Republic of Korea must take it into consideration the tradition of continental countries' to maintain large-scale military powers. Since the Korean War, the ROK army has developed the technology-force combined military system, maintaining proper number of troops and units and pursuing 'select few' policy at the same time. This has been promoted with the consideration of military situation in the Koran peninsular and the cooperation of ROK-US combined forces. This kind of unique military system that cannot be found in other countries can be said to be an insightful one for the preparation for the actual threat of North Korea and the conflicts between continental countries and maritime countries. In addition, this kind of technology-force combined military system has enabled us to keep peace in Korea. Therefore, it would be desirable to maintain this technology-force combined military system until the reunification of the Korean peninsular. Furthermore, it is to be pointed out that blindly following the 'select few' policy of advanced countries is not a good option, because it is ignoring the military strategic situation of the Korean peninsular. If the Republic of Korea pursues the reduction of troops and units radically without consideration of the threat of North Korea and surrounding countries, it could be a significant strategic mistake. In addition, the ROK army should keep an eye on the fact the European advanced countries and Japan that are not facing direct military threats are spending more defense expenditures than Korea. If the ROK army reduces military power without proper alternatives, it would exert a negative effect on the stable economic development of Korea and peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsular. Therefore, the desirable option would be to focus on the development of quality of forces, maintaining proper size and number of troops and units under the technology-force combined military system. The tableau above shows that the advanced countries like the UK, Germany, Italy, and Austria spend more defense expenditure per person than the Republic of Korea, although they do not face actual military threats, and that they keep achieving better economic progress than the countries that spend less defense expenditure. Therefore, it would be necessary to adopt the merits of the defense systems of those advanced countries. As we have examined, it would be desirable to maintain the current size and number of troops and units, to promote 'select few' policy with increased defense expenditure, and to strengthen the technology-force combined military system. On the basis of firm national security, the Republic of Korea can develop efficient policies for reunification and prosperity, and jump into the status of advanced countries. Therefore, the plans to reduce troops and units in [Military Reform Plan 2020] should be reexamined. If it is difficult for the ROK army to maintain its size of 655,000 troops because of low birth rate, the plans to establish the prompt mobilization force or to adopt drafting system should be considered for the maintenance of proper number of troops and units. From now on, the Republic of Korean government should develop plans to keep peace as well as to prepare unexpected changes in the Korean peninsular. For the achievement of these missions, some options can be considered. The first one is to maintain the same size of military troops and units as North Korea. The second one is to maintain the same level of military power as North Korea in terms of military force index. The third one is to maintain the same level of military power as North Korea, with the combination of the prompt mobilization force and the troops in active service under the system of technology-force combined military system. At present, it would be not possible for the ROK army to maintain such a large-size military force as North Korea (1,190,000 troops and 86 units). So it would be rational to maintain almost the same level of military force as North Korea with the combination of the troops on the active list and the prompt mobilization forces. In other words, with the combination of the troops in active service (60%) and the prompt mobilization force (40%), the ROK army should develop the strategies to harmonize technology and forces. The Korean government should also be prepared for the strategic flexibility of USFK, the possibility of American policy change about the location of foreign army, radical unexpected changes in North Korea, the emergence of potential threat, surrounding countries' demand for Korean force for the maintenance of regional stability, and demand for international cooperation against terrorism. For this, it is necessary to develop new approaches toward the proper number and size of troops and units. For instance, to prepare for radical unexpected political or military changes in North Korea, the Republic of Korea should have plans to protect a large number of refugees, to control arms and people, to maintain social security, and to keep orders in North Korea. From the experiences of other countries, it is estimated that 115,000 to 230,000 troops, plus ten thousands of police are required to stabilize the North Korean society, in the case radical unexpected military or political change happens in North Korea. In addition, if the Republic of Korea should perform the release of hostages, control of mass destruction weapons, and suppress the internal wars in North Korea, it should send 460,000 troops to North Korea. Moreover, if the Republic of Korea wants to stop the attack of North Korea and flow of refugees in DMZ area, at least 600,000 troops would be required. In sum, even if the ROK army maintains 600,000 troops, it may need additional 460,000 troops to prepare for unexpected radical changes in North Korea. For this, it is necessary to establish the prompt mobilization force whose size and number are almost the same as the troops in active service. In case the ROK army keeps 650,000 troops, the proper number of the prompt mobilization force would be 460,000 to 500,000.

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