Page 48 - 2018 Defense White Paper

To this end, the ROK Armed Forces plans to lay the legal foundation for maintaining political

neutrality and to continue to expand the involvement of the public voice in the policy making
process. In addition, the ROK Armed Forces will establish and implement active measures to
eradicate corruption in defense acquisition program and take strong measures to reduce the

defense budget by raising the eff iciency of national defense operation.

| Instilling a High-Morale Military Culture that Accompanies the People and Invokes

Public Trust | To help servicemembers focus on their combat missions, the ROK Armed
Forces will protect the human rights of the servicemembers, radically improve their working
conditions, and reform the culture of servicemembers that keeps up with changing times. In

addition, by promoting the benef its for the people and providing active support during the
emergencies, the ROK Armed Forces will build a military with public conf idence, as well as
invokes their trust and support.

| Building a Foundation for Peace Establishment through Inter-Korean Military
Confidence Building and Arms Control | To resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and

shape the conditions to establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, the ROK Armed
Forces will work towards military de-escalation and inter-Korean conf idence building. The
ROK Armed Forces will establish military assurance to the evolving inter-Korean exchanges
and cooperation and will seek substantial measures for arms control as denuclearization and the

establishment of the peace regime progresses.

3. Military Strategy

Military strategy seeks the military strategic objectives aimed to materialize the national

security strategy and national defense policy as well as the concept of operation and the direction
of military force development to meet the objective.

| Objective | In consideration of rapid changes in the security environment, the ROK Armed
Forces is preparing for North Korean threats, other potential threats, and nonmilitary threats
simultaneously. The objective of the military strategy is to deter provocations and invasions

46 Chapter 2 National Security Strategy and Defense Policy