On September 5, Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek stated, "Commanders must not neglect small matters and should actively work to resolve issues of complacency and a lapse in military discipline by ensuring the effective operation of the plan-execute-check-inspect system."
On this day, Minister Ahn held a key commanders' meeting on military discipline at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. He remarked, "People do not stumble over large stones, but over small ones that are hard to see," emphasizing his point. The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Deputy Commander of the Combined Forces Command, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Ground Operations Commander, the Second Operations Commander, the Marine Corps Commandant, as well as other major commanders at the corps level or higher from the Ministry of National Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and each military branch.
Minister Ahn received reports from the Army, Navy, and Air Force Chiefs of Staff on measures to strengthen military discipline. He explained the background of the meeting, stating, "This urgent meeting was convened to thoroughly analyze the causes of a series of recent incidents, such as the recent Air Force friendly fire accident, the fighter jet deviation incident in Alaska, and the recent fatal shooting accident, and to break the chain of these accidents."
Minister Ahn further urged the creation of a "positive barracks culture" and "institutional efforts to prevent accidents" as fundamental solutions. He said, "There must be an atmosphere in which service members can communicate freely with their superiors and peers within their units," and called for the active implementation of institutional measures, such as customized suicide prevention strategies for each area, to make every effort to prevent accidents.
Additionally, Minister Ahn emphasized, "With the mindset of 'Bonlib Doseong' (when the foundation is established, the right path emerges), we must remain faithful to the basics and fundamentals, and value the lives of our service members." He called for efforts to create "an army where service members are happy," "an army grounded in fundamentals," and "an army trusted by the people."
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