Top brass summoned to reform for greater combat readiness

(ATTN: RECASTS lead, headline; RESTRUCTURES, UPDATES throughout; ADDS comments;
CORRECTS distance in para 2; TRIMS)
By Sam Kim
GYERYONGDAE, South Korea, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- Speaking to a legion of top military
commanders, South Korea's defense minister called Thursday for sweeping reforms
to enhance the country's combat readiness against North Korea.
"Inaction is the only sin God will not forgive," Lee Sang-hee told more than 300
uniformed generals marshaled at the Gyeryongdae joint military command, about 150
kilometers south of Seoul.
"Times are now changing, and the military should also change," he said, running
down a series of steps outlined in a 2009 defense policy report presented to
President Lee Myung-bak last month.
The meeting, the largest ever in scale, is a follow-up to the report that calls
for improved operational readiness against North Korea and closer ties with the
United States, according to defense officials.
It also comes as South Korea is set to shoulder a greater portion of its own
defense by taking over the wartime operation control of its troops from the U.S.
by 2012.
The U.S. has retained the wartime command since it fought on the South Korean
side in the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce, and has some 28,500
troops here as a deterrent against North Korea.
"We have been able to establish a solid defensive posture and deter our enemy,"
Lee told the top brass, ranging from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to
Army, Air Force and Navy brigadier generals. "We are here to reinforce that
drive."
Checking on the progress of a series of internal reforms the military has pushed
for over the years, Lee called on and questioned several commanders among the
audience, warning against a failure to "transform and reshape" their units.
"We need to change everything from the bottom up, and we need you to set
examples," he said. "We should cleanse ourselves of an inclination to reward
ourselves for our difficulties in getting to these ranks or an overbearing
attitude toward those under us."
The comments come following a grenade explosion in which a disgruntled soldier
tossed a hand grenade into sleeping quarters in November, leaving five injured at
an army barrack near the border with North Korea.
The explosion, after which the army private complained of mistreatment and menial
working conditions, was the latest in a list of fatal incidents involving
rank-and-filers.
"Don't fool yourselves by believing you have completed your duty by simply
telling your soldiers what to do," Lee said. "Lead them until they will follow
you with their hearts and souls."
All able South Korean men must serve at least two years of armed service which
currently employs more than 660,000 members. President Lee, a conservative who
took office in February last year, has stressed the importance of increased
dialogue between commanders and soldiers.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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