Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 272



Only Krnovel

#272. Should I call it an epithelium?

After the State Council meeting, Lee Kang-cheol, along with Ko Seok-man, received a report from former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Nam Byung-woo, who took office as Minister of National Defense in January.

At least for matters related to the Ministry of National Defense, it has become customary to receive separate reports and consult with each other since the expedition team days, and it was a measure that took into account the special nature of the national defense.

“Yes, Minister Nam Byung-woo. How are you doing these days? As a minister, that is.”

“What, what’s the difference? I’m still an active-duty soldier. It’s just similar, so there’s nothing special about it. Especially since Minister Ko has become the Prime Minister, the person who reports to him is the same.”

“Hahaha! Is that how it works?”

It seemed like there wasn’t much of a difference between the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reporting to the Minister of National Defense, Goh Seok-man, or the Minister of National Defense reporting to the Prime Minister, as the two people were the same.

“But if you do it, you will realize that the Minister of National Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are quite different. If you encounter any difficulties, don’t hesitate to consult Prime Minister Goh.”

“Don’t worry about that. Have we only seen each other for a day or two?”

“Hahaha! That’s true.”

It’s already been over 15 years since I came over as an expeditionary force.

They had been through thick and thin together throughout those years, so much so that it would not be an exaggeration to say that their relationship was like that of real brothers.

“Time really flies, doesn’t it? It’s already been over 15 years.”

“Haha! That’s right. Needless to say, the kids who were majors or lieutenant colonels are now major generals or lieutenant generals. The kids who were lieutenants or captains have also been wearing stars for quite some time.”

“Oh! Were they the ones who had a runny nose?”

“Hey, what are you talking about? Are they grown ups now?”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

The Republic of Korea Armed Forces is an army that is absolutely rooted in expeditionary forces.

As a result, promotion was relatively quick, and usually a star was awarded after about 20 years.

Discharged? Retired?

Where is that?

There was still a lack of resources with modern military training, and especially because of the nature of the troops having to handle modern weapons and equipment that were not supposed to be known to the world, there were few cases of expeditionary forces returning to service.

That is why high-ranking generals like Nam Byeong-woo remained on active duty even after they were over 60 years old.

In conclusion, they could not retire until they were really old and unable to perform their duties.

They also had great affection for the military they created, so they didn’t even think about doing that.

And this phenomenon would continue at least until officers who had been properly trained at military academies and other institutions came to power after independence.

“But do Jung Ji-woon and Kim Jong-woo listen well? Don’t they ever get angry or anything?”

“That’s not true. Since we are so close, there are times when we overdo it, but we never cross the line. I treat them well in public. And I treat them well under me. Jeong Seon-ho, who recently became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also treats them well as the founders and leaders of the Air Force and Navy.”

“I expected that from Jeong Ji-woon, but what about Kim Jong-woo? I don’t trust him very much.”

“Hahaha! Jongwoo may have a bit of a temper, but he’s still a guy who clearly distinguishes between public and private affairs. That’s not true.”

“Huh? Are you perhaps thinking of me as a friend?”

“Hey, Mr. President, is that right? That’s not happening.”

“If that’s the case, then that’s good.”

These are the people who were in charge of the Army, Navy, and Air Force respectively.

And coincidentally, the three of them were the same age and graduated from their respective military academy classes.

Those three people had been living entangled together for over 15 years, so it would have been stranger if they weren’t close.

There was a bit of a problem when appointing the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Nam Byung-woo. Given the current military structure in which the Army holds an absolute majority, it was difficult for the Air Force and Navy to occupy the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

So Lee Kang-cheol personally called the two people and asked for their understanding, but they said they had never thought about it in the first place and told him not to worry about it.

Rather, as the founder of the Republic of Korea Air Force and Navy, he was so absurd that he said he did not want to lose his purity, which made Lee Kang-cheol feel absurd.

“Okay, let’s do our best anyway. So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“I would like you to approve the increase in military personnel.”

“Already? It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that our Prime Minister Koo requested and approved it when he was a minister?”

“That’s been a while, and the garden that was approved at that time is almost full. It’s scheduled to be filled in the second half of this year. So if we want to increase the number of people next year, we need to get approval now.”

“Huh! I thought it would be full next year or the year after? Last time, the total number of troops approved was 1.3 million, and it’s already full?”

“The supply of military resources was smoother than expected. As you heard at the State Council meeting earlier, the rapid decline in child mortality rate had a major impact.”

“okay?”

“Yes, the soldiers who will be drafted now are usually born in the late 1930s, and they had access to modern medicine and health care systems during their childhood. I heard directly from Minister Jang In-young that the child mortality rate during that period was quite terrifying, although not as high as the infant mortality rate.”

“Haha! I see.”

“There, the Japanese volunteers have almost reached the level of conscription, and the Chinese and Russian volunteers are no joke either. After serving in the military, almost all discrimination disappears.”

“Huh?”

“It seems that the opening of the officer corps may be faster than expected.”

Currently, in addition to Koreans, the only ethnic group that can become officers through military academies, Class A, ROTC, and bachelor’s degrees is Japanese, which was first approved recently.

The reason why the Japanese were the first to be recognized was because they had volunteered and fought hard in the previous war and had been recognized for their loyalty, and because their home country, Japan, was not even treated as a potential enemy.

In other words, Japan is currently not even a potential threat to South Korea, but the fact that the mother country has become useless has become a major factor in opening the way for people of Japanese descent to become officers first.

On the other hand, for people of Chinese or Russian descent, the only way to become soldiers was still to enlist as a private, unless there were special circumstances, and promotion ended at the highest rank of non-commissioned officer, sergeant major.

In particular, those of Chinese descent whose home countries are North China and South China, which are currently classified as the greatest potential enemies of South Korea, were not all accepted even if they volunteered, and were only permitted to enlist after passing a thorough background check and ideological verification.

“Hmm, let me think about that slowly.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

“While we’re on the subject, I’m asking because I’m an old man. What is it about the Chinese and Russian soldiers? Should I call it a sangpumjeong?”

“Haha! We call it that internally too.”

It seems that it is not possible to officially deploy a certain ethnic group far from their home country to guard them, so it is just called an epicenter system internally.

Originally, the Sangpije system was a system in the Joseon Dynasty that prevented government officials from working in their hometowns in order to prevent corruption.

“Yeah, by the way, are you thoroughly enforcing the arrangement of crossing each other?”

“Of course. All Chinese soldiers are stationed on the Soviet border, and all Russian soldiers are stationed only on the Chinese border. Well, there were no such restrictions on Japanese soldiers to begin with.”

“Yes, we need to make that clear. Especially the Chinese.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Okay, then let’s get to the point. How many people do you plan on adding?”

“For now, we plan to add 200,000 to reach 1.5 million within three years.”

“Is it possible to have 200,000 soldiers in 3 years? I think it is premature to expect more Chinese soldiers.”

“It is possible. I will review the status of all those scheduled to be drafted and let you know. In addition, the time has come for volunteers born in a time when child mortality rates have decreased year by year to enlist. Thanks to this, you will not have to worry about volunteers of our ethnic Korean descent.”

“Wait? Then, when the time comes for the children born in a time when infant mortality rates are dropping drastically to enlist… … .”

“Hahaha! There are only a few years left until those kids enlist, and by then I think we’ll have to drastically increase the number of conscripts.”

“Haha! That’s a really nice thing to hear. Thinking about how we suffered from a shortage of troops in modern times, do you still wake up from sleep?”

“Oh my! Those were really ridiculous times. Because of the low birth rate, there were even rumors that the country would just disappear.”

Even Seok-Man Ko, who was listening from the side, joined in and reminisced about the modern times.

“I told you it wasn’t a joke. Officers? Duty soldiers? Those things have been gone for a long time, and I didn’t want them. No, shouldn’t we fill the ones who will fight with guns? But no matter how much I complain and make a fuss, they won’t fill the ones. And what kind of division is my division? Isn’t it the 8th Division, one of only two mobile divisions in the 7th Mobile Corps, the only mobile corps in the Republic of Korea Army? And yet they won’t give me any, so I’m going crazy.”

“It was better because it was the 8th Division. The mobilization divisions and regional defense divisions were worse. I heard that there were many divisions that didn’t even fill 80% of their original quota.”

“Was the only problem not being able to fill the garden? Minister Nam, what was our final active duty conscription rate?”

“95% in 2026? Probably.”

“Wow! Can you believe it? A 95% active duty judgment rate?”

“It reached 92% in 2011 and 2013, but then dropped for a while due to a large-scale reduction in troops. Then it started to rise again, eventually reaching 95%.”

“Anyway, does that make sense? This is what I mean, no matter how high the active duty screening rate is, it can’t exceed 80%. If it’s that abnormally high, even people who absolutely shouldn’t be in the military will end up coming in.”

“That’s right. If kids who should never be given guns join the military, as you said, how can the military function properly?”

“So the military has been shut down… no, it has become a paradise for soldiers of interest. It seems like the higher-ups think that they just need to fill the numbers, but is that really the case?”

“Officially, the term ‘care soldier’ was also abolished in 2015. Other terms such as ‘help soldier’ or ‘considerate soldier’… … .”

“I don’t know! That’s it. It’s not a joke. What kind of helpful soldier is this? A considerate soldier?”

“… … .”

It was definitely a pun.

A wastebasket was just a wastebasket.

“Anyway, that’s true. Because of that one retired soldier, several regular soldiers had to be assigned to manage him. I was worried that he might cause trouble. So, you’re saying that we should do any proper training? This was worse than nothing.”

“The commander didn’t even properly direct the training. If there was an accident, it would mean the end of my military career.”

“Ha! Seriously, those were really terrible times. No, were the conscripts the only problem? Starting in the mid-20s, there was even a mass desertion of non-commissioned officers. Seriously… … .”

“Was it only the non-commissioned officers? Whether it was the ROTC or the military academy, there were no officers who could serve as platoon leaders because they were all short-listed. Well, even the military doctors were enlisting as regular soldiers, so it was chaos.”

“… … .”

The story of the modern-day shortage of manpower that suddenly appeared was becoming more and more shocking.