Page 310 - 2018 Defense White Paper

| Uncover the Truth behind Suspicious Deaths in the Military | Suspicious deaths in the military refer
to incidents or accidents in which there exist a significant reason to believe that the cause of death has not
been clearly identified.
To share the pain of the bereaved family members and prevent the recurrence of unsolved deaths in the
military, the Committee for the Eradication of Deep-Rooted Evils in the Military recommended uncovering
the truth behind unsolved deaths by enacting the Special Act on Ascertaining the Truth of Military Accidents
Resulting in Death and improving the systems and programs for servicemembers who lost their lives on duty.
As a result, the Special Act on Ascertaining the Truth of Military Accidents Resulting in Death was
promulgated on March 13, 2018, that enabled, among others, the establishment of a presidential committee
called the “Committee to Ascertain the Truth of Military Accidents Resulting in Death.” In response, the MND
set up a preparation group that reports directly to the vice minister and ensured the stable launch of the said
committee on September 14, 2018. In addition, the MND lowered the eligibility criteria for death on duty by
including deaths caused by the onset or progression of diseases after enlistment. The MND also reviewed
the cases of 91 deceased servicemembers who were included in the 230 cases investigated by the 2008
Committee for Ascertaining the Truth of Suspicious Deaths in the Military 1) but were not reviewed for death on
duty certification because the bereaved did not apply. As a result, 90 of these cases were certified as deaths
on duty. Furthermore, the MND instituted several reforms that included the involvement of external experts
in investigations, streamlining of the veteran benefit application process, and the provision of Comrade Love
Consolation Money to those who took their own lives in the line of duty.

| Improve the Extreme Ideological Biases in Security Education | Some of the security education
programs for servicemembers and reserve forces included contents biased toward certain political
ideologies that alienated and offended many participants.
To eliminate the possibility of the military being politically misrepresented in security education,
the Committee for the Eradication of Deep-Rooted Evils in the Military recommended a stricter political
neutrality obligation for instructors and expanded character education for servicemembers, provision of
useful educational contents through improvement of screening criteria for external instructors and education
verification systems, and other institutional reforms for security education for servicemembers and reserve
force members.
In response, the MND inserted a political neutrality provision in its directives on troop information and

1) A temporary presidential committee established under the Special Act on Ascertaining the Truth of Suspicious
Deaths in the Military. The committee operated between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2008.

308 Appendix