Republic of Korea

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Korea (ROK)—South Korea—has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In October 2007, South Korea explained its abstention on the vote on the draft UN General Assembly resolution calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty: “As we have repeatedly emphasized on previous occasions, the Republic of Korea fully sympathizes with the spirit and objectives of the Ottawa Convention. We firmly believe that this important Conventions plays, and will continue to play, a central role in alleviating human suffering caused by anti-personnel landmines. However, due to the unique security situation on the Korean peninsula, we are compelled to give priority to our security concerns, and unable to accede to the Convention at this point.”^[1]

South Korea did not attend the Eighth Meeting of States Parties in Jordan in November 2007. South Korea attended as an observer the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2008 but made no statements. It attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum Seminar on Antipersonnel Mines held in Penang, Malaysia, on 8–10 April 2008.

South Korea is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. South Korea participated in all CCW meetings in 2007 and 2008, and submitted its annual report required by Article 13 of Amended Protocol II.9 South Korea adhered to Protocol V on explosive remnants of war on 23 January 2008, becoming a State Party to the protocol on 23 July 2008.

South Korea did not attend the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions in May 2008.

Production

The government has reported to Landmine Monitor that, in 2007, the Hanwha Corporation, a private company, produced about 10,000 self-destructing antipersonnel mines, designated KM74, which can be set to self-destruct 48 hours after deployment.^[2] Hanwha Corporation produced 750 KM18A1 remote-controlled Claymores in 2007.^[3] In its April 2007 response to a Landmine Monitor questionnaire, South Korea acknowledged for the first time that Hanwha had begun production of these self-destructing antipersonnel mines, with about 8,900 manufactured in 2006.^[4]

South Korea has produced two types of Claymore directional fragmentation devices designated KM18A1 and K440.^[5] South Korean officials have clarified that the country only produces the devices in command-detonated mode, which are lawful under the Mine Ban Treaty, and not with tripwires, which would be prohibited. ^[6]

In June 2008, the government told Landmine Monitor that “a government-managed research project on alternatives to AP mines is scheduled to be conducted from 2009 to 2012.”^[7]

Transfer

South Korea states that it has “faithfully enforced an indefinite extension of the moratorium on the export of AP mines since 1997, which does not include claymore-type mines.”^[8] On 25 February 2007, Hanwha Corporation transferred 750 remote-controlled Claymore mines to Oman for US$200,000.^[9] South Korea is not known to have exported any antipersonnel mines in the past.

South Korea did not import any antipersonnel landmines in 2007.^[10] Earlier South Korean mine imports from the United States are described in previous Landmine Monitor reports.

Stockpiling

In May 2006, South Korea for the first time provided details on its stockpile of antipersonnel mines, citing a figure of 407,800 antipersonnel mines, including 382,900 non-self-destructing mines (m², M3, M14, M16, and M18) and 24,900 self-destructing mines (M74).^[11] It repeated this information in its April 2007 and June 2008 responses to Landmine Monitor.^[12] Previously, the government stated that it held a stockpile of about two million antipersonnel mines.^[13]

The US military stockpiles about 1.1 million M14 and M16 antipersonnel mines for use in any future war in Korea.^[14] While US Army documents indicate about half of those mines are stored in the continental US, the South Korean government has said the entire stock is located in South Korea.^[15] The US military also keeps in South Korea a substantial number of self-destructing, scatterable antipersonnel mines. In 2005, the South Korean government reported that the US held 40,000 GATOR, 10,000 VOLCANO, and an unknown number of MOPMS mines.^[16]

In 2008, South Korea reported that information about the US military’s stockpile of antipersonnel mine in South Korea is classified.^[17]

Most of the US mines in South Korea are part of the more extensive War Reserve Stocks for Allies, Korea (WRSA-K). The WRSA-K are munitions stored in South Korea but kept under US title and control, then made available to US and South Korean forces in case of an emergency. On 30 December 2005, US President George W. Bush signed Public Law 109-159, authorizing the sale of items in the WRSA-K to South Korea during a three-year period, after which the WRSA-K program will be terminated.^[18] The law states that any items remaining in the WRSA-K at the time of termination “shall be removed, disposed of, or both by the Department of Defense.”^[19] The Pentagon determines which items to offer for sale to South Korea.^[20]

In June 2008, the South Korean government told Landmine Monitor, “Landmines are excluded from the negotiations between the ROK and US” regarding sale or transfer of War Reserve Stocks.^[21]

Landmine/ERW Problem

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) immediately adjoining the southern boundary of the DMZ, remain among the most heavily mined areas in the world due to extensive mine-laying during the Korean War and in the 1960s, 1978 and 1988.^[22] In May 2006, South Korea indicated that about 970,000 mines were emplaced in the southern part of the DMZ, about 30,000 mines were in the CCZ, and about 8,000 mines were in 25 military sites covering an area of about 3km² in the northern parts of Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do provinces, below the CCZ.^[23] However, the South Korean government now states that there are “about 1,000,000 mines planted in some 1,300 sites between the DMZ and Seoul.”^[24] Unexploded ordnance (UXO), another legacy of the Korean War, is also present in many parts of the country, and casualties continue to occur (see below section on casualties).^[25]

South Korea informed Landmine Monitor in 2008^[26] that it controls about 1,300 mined sites covering a total area of about 32km², unchanged from the previous year but substantially more than the 21.8km² of confirmed minefields reported by the Ministry of National Defense in 2003.^[27] At that time, the ministry also reported unconfirmed minefields covering an additional 90.7km². The South Korean army defines unconfirmed minefields as areas that are suspected to be mined, but for which there are no maps or other reliable information; it marks them with “Unconfirmed Minefield Danger” signs.^[28]

Demining

South Korea has undertaken limited demining in the DMZ and CCZ but has concentrated most efforts on demining military bases in rear areas. Clearance operations are conducted by the South Korean army.^[29] The government said in 2008 there are no civilian demining companies in South Korea but that it is drafting legislation to allow private companies to engage in mine clearance operations on private land.^[30] Press reports cited the Ministry of National Defense as saying the legislation would be passed in September 2008.^[31] However, unofficial reports say land speculators are buying mine-contaminated land inside the CCZ, having the land cleared and selling it for a profit.^[32]

In 2007, South Korea reported it spent KOR515 million ($554,377/€404,330) on demining and used around 53,000 soldiers to clear some 169,000m² between CCZ and Seoul, removing about 2,300 mines.^[33]

South Korea’s 2007 CCW Article 13 report stated that demining work was underway on 14 “military bases or sites,” including three unconfirmed minefields, and that the work would be completed in 2009.^[34]

In March 2008, Mechem deployed mine detection dogs and mini-flails to South Korea under a contract from the US Army Corps.^[35]

Landmine/ERW Casualties

In 2007, Landmine Monitor identified one new antivehicle mine casualty: in April a 34-year-old man was slightly injured, and his wheeled excavator destroyed, by a mine blast in the northern part of Gyeonggi-do.^[36] In 2006, one man was injured by an antipersonnel mine in Gyeonggi-do.^[37]

Casualties continued to be reported in 2008, with a civilian man injured by what was suspected to be an antipersonnel mine on the island of Gangwha (also part of Gyeonggi-do province) in January. Korean authorities stated that no mines were planted on the island and the device was possibly washed down from mainland Gyeonggi-do or Gangwon-do province due to flooding of the Han River.^[38]

There is no comprehensive official data on mine casualties in the Republic of Korea. The Ministry of National Defense only records military mine/ERW incidents.^[39] Incidents involving civilians are identified through the media and might be under-reported. It is believed that there are on average 10 new mine casualties in the DMZ each year.^[40]

Between 1999 and 2007, Landmine Monitor recorded at least 61 mine/ERW casualties. In 2007, the media reported that more than 1,000 civilians had been injured or killed by mines since 1953.^[41] Previously, the Korean Campaign to Ban Landmines (KCBL) estimated that more than 1,000 civilians and 2,000 to 3,000 military personnel had been killed or injured by mines since the war.^[42]

Landmine/ERW Risk Education

As in previous years, the Ministry of National Defense conducted two types of mine/ERW risk education programs: one for the armed forces and the other for civilians. When the army conducts demining operations it holds meetings with the local population to inform them about the demining plan.^[43] The government also reported that the military held meetings with local people to provide specific information on landmines.^[44]

In its CCW Article 13 Report, South Korea stated that it had made changes to the way landmine information was disseminated, and to mine clearance and rehabilitation programs, but it did not provide more details on rehabilitation or on risk education.^[45]

Victim Assistance

South Korea has a well-developed healthcare system considered one of the best in the region.^[46] Civilian mine survivors are covered by the national health insurance system and soldiers injured on duty receive free medical services from the Veterans Hospital.^[47]

Mine survivors and other persons with disabilities can benefit from the “Health Care Development Plan for the 21st Century” of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW). One of the objectives of the plan is to “secure income and increase employment opportunities for the disabled.”^[48] In 2007, the MHW created part-time employment schemes to increase opportunities for persons with disabilities, but employment rates remained low.^[49]

Within the MoHW, the Disabled Welfare Officer was responsible for strategic planning, physical accessibility and support for physical rehabilitation for persons with disabilities.^[50]

Civilian mine survivors are eligible for government compensation through the State Compensation Act, but few survivors have received benefits through this act. In 2007, one claim in Seoul resulted in approximately $60,000 awarded to the widow of a man killed by a mine in a military zone in Chorwon county (Gangwon-do province) near the DMZ in May 2005.^[51] Two more claims by men allegedly injured by mines were submitted in 2007 but were still under consideration by the Ministry of National Defense as of May 2008.^[52] No updates were available on a draft Special Act for Compensation of Mine Victims submitted to the National Congress by the KCBL.^[53]

South Korea has legislation to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and discrimination against persons with disabilities is illegal.^[54] The National Human Rights Commission received 155 cases of disability-related discrimination in 2007.^[55] In January 2008, human rights organizations called on the government to reform existing legislation to strengthen and monitor provisions prohibiting discrimination of persons with disabilities in employment. They also called for the creation of a regulating body to oversee service provision to persons with disabilities.^[56]

On 30 March 2007, South Korea signed the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but not its Optional Protocol. As of 31 July 2008, South Korea had not ratified the convention. On 5–8 September 2007, South Korea hosted a world assembly on disability focussing on the UN Convention; more than 2,000 participants attended.^[57]

Support for Mine Action

South Korea reported contributing $1 million (€1,371,100) for mine action to the UN Development Group (UNDG) Iraq Trust Fund in 2007.^[58] South Korea reported $50,000 in contributions in 2006 to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Thematic Trust Fund for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.^[59]