Lt. Gen. Han Ki-sung, commander of the Army's 1st Corps, was relieved of duty due to controversies including an order for troops to conduct guard duty with unloaded firearms and a recent mix-up involving a U.S. spy drone near the inter-Korean border.
A South Korean Army officer is under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting a male soldier under his command. The alleged incidents occurred between September last year and February this year, involving unwanted physical contact. The military authorities transferred the case to the police after the victim reported the assault.
South Korea's Army is reviewing the deployment of suicide drones and reconnaissance drones to battalion-level units as part of its modernization push. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Gyu-ha said drones will become as essential as personal firearms for all combatants. The service plans to introduce 11,000 educational drones this year and deploy over 50,000 operational drones by 2029, with the goal of transforming all Army units under the advanced TIGER concept by 2040.
A South Korean army recruitment poster featuring a female model in combat uniform has drawn controversy over a hand gesture. The thumb and index finger shape, known as the 'Megalian hand' after radical feminist group Megalia, is seen by many South Koreans as a mockery of male genitalia. Cultural psychologist Han Min noted that fringe groups often use coded gestures in public content to express messages while maintaining plausible deniability.
