South Korea's defense minister has revealed plans for dramatic changes in the country's court-martial and summary discipline systems. According to
this KBS World Radio report:
South Korea plans to carry out military judicial reform as early as next year.
Defense Minister Song Young-moo said during a press conference on Monday that he expects to receive a draft plan on how to reform the military legal system within the year, adding a new system will be in place by next year or 2020.
The ministry said it is pushing for reform to meet demands of the era and guarantee constitutional and human rights of military personnel.
Under the plan, military authorities are seeking to abolish the High Court for Armed Forces and the military guardhouse system, among other measures.
The military high court, which functions as an appeals court for lower military courts, has long been criticized for lacking objectivity. Instead, the Seoul High Court will likely take over the role.
The guardhouse system has allowed captains or high-ranked military officers to put rank-and-file soldiers within a military confinement facility at their discretion for up to 15 days at a time. The military plans to make any incarceration possible only through an official court trial and use a military prison instead of a confinement facility.
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