[the300] Dismissal, Stripping of Military Status, and Reduction of Pension by 50% for Dismissed Personnel…Dismissal Reduces Pension by 25%
Yeon Hyeong, a former Army counterintelligence commander and junior of ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was accused of pre-collaborating for the emergency martial law of December 3, was dismissed. Regarding Gwak Jong-geun, former commander of the Special Warfare Command, who commanded the elite Special Forces unit’s deployment to the National Assembly during the martial law, a decision to remove him from his post was made.
The Ministry of National Defense’s disciplinary committee handed down severe disciplinary actions against Yeon, Lee Jin-woo (former commander of the Army Capital Defense Command), and Ko Hyun-suk (former deputy chief of staff of the Army) for violating legal compliance duties. They were reportedly dismissed.
Initially, Gwak was also facing “removal” from the committee’s decision, but because he contributed to the restoration of constitutional order, his punishment was reportedly mitigated to “dismissal.” He claimed that he did not follow an alleged illegal order to remove lawmakers by Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, as revealed on a YouTube channel.
The committee decided to suspend Colonel Yu from the Defense Security Support Command for two months despite no sufficient reasons for disciplinary action, based on a request for re-evaluation by the disciplinary authority. The outcome of the disciplinary procedure for Moon Sang-ho, the former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, is still pending.
Military disciplinary actions vary from reprimand, seclusion, pay reduction, suspension, demotion, removal, to dismissal. From suspension onwards, it is considered a severe disciplinary action, and for high-ranking officers, it requires the approval of the president, who is the commander-in-chief.
Dismissal results in the loss of military status and a 50% reduction in the military pension, equating to a virtually dishonorable discharge. Removal results in a 25% pension reduction.
With the committee’s decision, there’s growing criticism that the “dismissal” of Lee Jae-shik, former deputy chief of the readiness inspection office at the Joint Chiefs of Staff for his involvement in the pre-collaboration of the martial law, seems excessive. It’s noted that during the martial law, he instructed the setup of the command center but later intervened to prevent the use of non-lethal weapons.