Article Posted on : - Mar 03, 2011

SEOUL (BNS): South Korea has shelved its plan to set up a new joint military command structure intended at increasing coordination among the three branches of its military.

The Defence Ministry has decided to scrap the plan to create a Joint Forces Command (JFC) amidst opposition from the Navy and Air Force, the official Yonhap news agency reported Thursday.

Under the proposed plan, South Korea was mulling to establish the top military command structure which was to be headed by a four-star officer.

The new military command and its head would have been entrusted with greater power than the present Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and its chairman.

The proposal was being considered amid calls to improve interoperability among the three wings of the military to better respond to provocations by North Korea.

However, opposition from the Navy and Air Force and Constitutional provisions led to the scrapping of the proposal.

“We decided to scrap the plan to create the JFC and its commander because such operational command is not guaranteed by the Constitution,” a Defence Ministry official was quoted as saying in the news report.

The Navy and Air Force opposed the plan over fears that the Army would dominate the new operational command.

Under a revised plan, the Defence Ministry has now proposed to allow the JCS chairman to have the responsibility for managing military personnel of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the official said.

Currently, the JCS chairman has operational command over all military branches, but no power to manage military personnel. The chiefs of the three wings have authority over their respective troops.

The report said that the Ministry was planning to gather public opinion on the new plan by June this year.