Minister of National Defense Seo Wook is attending the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee hearing on the 23rd, providing a report on the Ministry of National Defense and the Military Court./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@
[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]A control tower overseeing human rights policies for military personnel will be newly established within the Ministry of National Defense.
On the 23rd, the Ministry of National Defense announced through its report for the National Assembly Judiciary Committee's audit that it is promoting the establishment of the 'Human Rights Bureau,' a department responsible for overseeing military human rights policies.
The Human Rights Bureau, serving as the control tower for military human rights policies, will be created by integrating human rights tasks currently dispersed across the Ministry’s Legal Affairs Office Human Rights Division, Personnel Planning Office Barracks Culture Innovation Team, and Health and Welfare Office Gender Equality Policy Division. Additionally, the Ministry plans to fully implement the "Division-level Military Human Rights Advisory Lawyer System," which is currently being piloted to operate units in a human rights-friendly manner that meets public expectations, within this year.
The human rights advisory lawyers provide counsel to commanders on human rights issues faced by subordinate units and have been piloted in eight units since last year.
Furthermore, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it will strengthen punishments for digital sex crimes, considering recent cases involving active-duty soldiers implicated as accomplices in the Telegram "Baksa-bang" operators who produced and distributed sexual exploitation materials. The Ministry added that it plans to amend the Military Service Act to introduce penalties for personal information leaks and misconduct among social service agents.
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