Page 264 - 2018 Defense White Paper

2. Political Neutrality of the Armed Forces

| Establishing the Legal Basis for Ensuring Political Neutrality | The Armed Forces
is tasked with keeping the nation and its people safe. To fulf ill this mission, the MND will

establish the legal basis for its political independence.
Currently, the Constitution and other laws provide the basis for the political neutrality of the
Armed Forces. However, the current laws only punish military personnel for ordering political

interventions and lack the legal obligation to clearly refuse such orders. To address this issue,
the MND plans to introduce provisions punishing other public off icials as well as the military
personnel ordering political interventions, and institutionalize rewards for informants and

the legal obligation to refuse orders on political intervention. In addition, the MND plans to
improve the relevant statutes and regulations such as codes of conduct and detailed criteria in
the Framework Act on Military Status and Service, the Military Criminal Act, and the Unit
Management Directive.

The combat power of the Armed Forces comes from the people’s trust, which is attained when
the Armed Forces carries out its rightful duties. By ensuring its political neutrality, the Armed

Forces will be able to focus on its duty to protect national territories and keep the people safe.
This will be a foundation for building “strong forces that win every battle.”

| Training Democratic Citizens in Uniforms | The MND will reinforce education on the

rule of law, political neutrality, and other values of free democracy to foster the basic qualities
required of democratic citizens as well as a personality-friendly military culture that people want
to join and parents want to send their children to, based on mutual respect and cooperation.

To this end, the MND plans to reinforce humanities, history, and personality education, and
expand opportunities to enjoy art and culture. Through these ef forts, the MND plans to help
servicemembers gain awareness of and act on the universal values of mankind, foster patriotism

and pride in serving the nation, and focus on their duty to keep the nation safe.

3. Open Management of National Defense

| Enhancing Civil Participation in Policymaking Processes | The MND is innovating

262 Chapter 6 Instilling a High-Morale Military Culture Trusted by the People