Page 82 - 2018 Defense White Paper

2. Establishing a Posture to Prevent and Counter Domestic and
Overseas Terrorism

The patterns of recent terrorist attacks are diversifying in terms of perpetrators, means, and

targets, as seen in the vehicle rampage attacks in London, United Kingdom, and in Nice, France;
the serial bombings in Indonesia; and the mosque attack in Egypt. The number of countries
targeted by terrorism is also growing. In the ROK, the mass shooting with an improvised firearm

in 2016 and the “tumbler bomb” incident in Yonsei University in 2017 showed that homegrown
terrorism by those dissatisfied with the society can take place domestically.
To effectively counter the growing threats of terrorism, the ROK Armed Forces is striving

to enhance its counterterrorism system and the operational capabilities of counterterrorism
operation units. Through the revision of the “MND Directive on Counterterrorism Activities,” the
ROK Armed Forces has established and enhanced the system that enables real-time interagency
exchange of terrorism-related information, and developed concrete roles and missions of each

dedicated organization. In addition, the “working-level crisis response manual for terrorism” has
been refined, enhancing the counterterrorism operation execution system. Since 2017, a budget

of KRW 53.3 billion has been used to supply the military counterterrorism operation units with
the latest equipment and supplies to enhance their operational capabilities and survivability.
Moreover, the ROK Armed Forces has integrated the special mission units for counterterrorism
that have been designated for their respective local areas and the counterterrorism units formed

for different types of terrorism into “packages” to ef fectively counter various types of terrorism.
During the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
in PyeongChang, the ROK Armed Forces seamlessly

supported counterterrorism and security activities. As
a result, the PyeongChang Olympics was lauded by the
world as the safest and most peaceful Olympics.

Meanwhile, to effectively respond to international threats of Counter-terrorism training conducted
terrorism, the ROK endeavors to promote counterterrorism for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
(January 2018)
cooperation and coordination with the international

community, including participating in the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-
Plus) Experts’ Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and the ADMM-Plus combined exercise on
counterterrorism.

80 Chapter 3 Establishing a Robust Defense Posture against Omnidirectional Security Threats