[Editorial] Soldiers as 'free labor'

[한겨레] The, Clear River, Unit was established by the Ministry of National Defense for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. Formed this past June by request from the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, it was sent into Zone 35 of the Nakdong River, where it has been engaged in sand dredging and other efforts. Some 72 pieces of equipment have been brought in, including 50-ton dumptrucks and excavators.

The creation of this unit clearly shows how the Lee Myung-bak administration views the military. It sees no problem with drafting young people who enlisted to fulfill their sacred national defense duties and forcing them to dig up sand from a healthy riverbed. This would be unthinkable without the anachronistic mind-set that views the armed forces as "The Ranks of the Lee Myung-bak Administration."

The very use of military forces in the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project has an element of unconstitutionality. Not only does it not coincide with the proper duty of the military, that of "guaranteeing the nation's security and defending the national territory," but it also runs counter to the military's obligation to remain politically neutral, given the political and social conflicts surrounding the project. The Cheonggang Unit's task is of a completely different nature from assisting with disaster recovery efforts or lending a hand during farming season. Still, the Lee administration refuses to budge.

It is even more staggering to consider that the Lee administration stated the purpose of creating the Cheonggang Unit was to "cut costs" for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. This is an outright declaration that the labor of soldiers is "free." People in the administration believe that it is acceptable to use soldiers like tools on a shelf that can be pulled out at any time and used for free. Watching these developments come from an administration made up of military service evaders brings about only feelings of both outrage and sadness.

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young made a truly unthinkable remark at a parliamentary audit two days ago. When opposition party lawmakers asked him if he was prepared to disband the Cheonggang Unit, he replied, "Actually, they could achieve their training goals in terms of specialty skills improvement."

By this logic, it would help with "specialty skills training" to send members of the engineer corps to work on bridge and subway construction sites, military police and defense security units to do police duties, and communications units to assist with private communications projects. With the soldiers under his command relegated to the status of construction laborers, it is outrageous for a man with the title of head of the armed forces to present such ridiculous sophistry.

The administration must immediately disband the Cheonggang Unit and return its members to their proper duties. If it wishes to continue using the unit, it should obtain the consent of the National Assembly by passing a special law on the use of military forces for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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