KOR- Unnecessary living inconvenience and suffering reduced… Facilities have improved a lot
- Supplying smartwatches to all units, working to secure budget
- Junior officers struggle to control 1% problem personnel… Environment needs improvement
- Flooded with requests to visit other units… Considering another boot camp stay
- US mentions scaling back joint military drills… Large gap in security perception
- Lee administration failed to explain increased North Korean security threat
- Dialoguing on wrong premises… Security authorities must correct it
- Kim Min-seok elected party leader thanks to Lee… Appears to lack leeway
- Questionable scope of personal discretion… Nothing good for opposition
- Reform Party's breakthrough? Must show image of a spirited party
■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5 MHz 7:00 – 9:00)
■ Date: August 18, 2026 (Tue)
■ Host: Attorney Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Rep. Chun Ha-ram, Reform Party
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Joining us is someone who experienced recruit training for three days and two nights at the Nonsan Army Training Center. We will talk about his boot camp experience with Chun Ha-ram, floor leader of the Reform Party. Lawmaker, salute.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Salute. I returned in good health, thankfully.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: As she was leaving just now, reporter Son Ji-eun asked why you only stayed for three days and two nights, saying she was planning to visit you.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: I really couldn't do any more than that.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Is that so?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: My physical stamina hit its limit, and my respect for the soldiers suffering in this heat truly surged.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right, in this heat.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: The training itself is tough, but wearing a military uniform in this heat, living in groups—and while my comrades were great and fellow recruits were lovely, you don't go home. Everyone has to live together without privacy, and that's what is really hard. So I was genuinely moved seeing our young people in their 20s working so hard and doing so well.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: We are showing the photos posted on your social media on YouTube right now. Just looking at them makes it look hot and exhausting.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: It really was.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: But honestly, did you regret it? Because you left a review saying, "I thought I was going to die." You regretted it, didn't you?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Honestly, I regretted it a lot. I mean, who wants to go back to the military? 14 years ago, after qualifying as a lawyer, I also underwent basic training at Nonsan Training Center. In terms of living conditions, things have improved dramatically. There are many areas that have progressed, but the military itself is still a very grueling place. Plus, because I condensed everything into three days and two nights, my main training was mostly individual combat drills and a 20-kilometer march. Normally, these are done on separate days. On individual combat drill days, because crawling and all that is so tough, you basically do just that and rest for the rest of the day. And for the 20-kilometer march, you prepare, rest, and then do a night march. But I did both on the same day. Moving between two units and compressing it like that...
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: That must have been brutal.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Yes. And I'm not in peak physical shape to begin with.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Even if you were, it would be tough.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Since I compressed training that soldiers in their early 20s do over two days into a single day, toward the very end of the march, I kept thinking, "Am I really going to be okay?"
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Floor Leader, no current South Korean lawmaker had ever attempted this before.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Right.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: You didn't do this just for attention or clout. You must have had a purpose for going, and there will be follow-up measures to support it now that you're back.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Exactly.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Why did you try this?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: First of all, as members of the National Defense Committee, we can inspect any unit we want at any time.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: But since I'm relatively young, I felt that rather than just making inspection visits, actually undergoing training together would give me a better view of the updated, realistic picture. I am so glad I went.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: How was it once you went?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: It was completely different from what I experienced 14 years ago. What surprised me most initially was—
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Naturally, facilities have improved.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: I felt things have really developed immensely. What I mean is, in the past, we had canteens from the Korean War era that were so worn out you wondered if you could drink from them. But now, even the canteens are really clean. On top of that, you can use personal tumblers. They also provide plenty of bottled water. They have water purifiers just like the ones in our offices, so you can drink clean, safe water. Furthermore, the barracks are all equipped with air conditioning.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Without air conditioning in this heat, you'd die in your sleep.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Truly. When I served 14 years ago, could anyone even imagine air conditioning? Everyone stayed in sweltering heat. So my point is, training is still done very diligently—in fact, I think it's even more rigorous than before in some ways—but in terms of living conditions, things causing unnecessary suffering have significantly decreased. The South Korean military has modernized just as much as our country has.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Furthermore, I asked when the air conditioners were installed, and they said they've been around since 2016. I had no idea. We're trapped in our past military experiences. So I naturally asked my squad mates in the barracks, "Did they turn this on just because I came?" They said no, it's turned on normally. They explained that due to extreme climate change nowadays, even without a lawmaker visiting, air conditioners are routinely used, and voltage upgrade works have been completed. And what really gave me a culture shock was that they distribute smartwatches—Samsung Galaxy something-or-other.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: You don't have to censor it since you already said Galaxy.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Anyway, they give out Galaxy Watches. What was fascinating was, back when I was a recruit, instructions were called out orally—what gear to wear, what uniform to put on, and when to assemble. But there were so many announcements that people forgot, got confused, and constantly got scolded or disciplined. Now, for example, at 6:00 PM on the smartwatch—
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: The instructions pop up directly.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Instead of just "assemble for dinner," it explicitly displays what to wear, what to prepare, and how to line up. So confusion is dramatically reduced. Plus, for night watch duties, it pops up like a smartphone calendar event showing "Night Watch Duty." It even tells you whom you need to wake up next.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: I see.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: And if you're sick or need a consultation while there, you can tap it to request a medical visit right through the device.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: So again, compared to the past, training is still really hard and soldiers carry it out faithfully, but unnecessary living inconveniences and discomforts have decreased significantly.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Really?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Yes.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: We have a listener question from 9279: "Lawmaker, I enlisted in 1999. Do they still serve 'Gunderia' burgers with strawberry jam?" They seem curious about that.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: They do serve them. But talking about food, they even serve hot dogs that taste like commercial ones, like Stff Hotdogs.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Those hot dogs are delicious.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: They really are. I keep getting excited about this, but at the massive Nonsan Army Training Center, where there are usually 10,000 recruits and nearly 3,000 assistant instructors stationed—totaling 13,000 people—there are almost no mess hall cooks. So who makes the food?
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right. Is it catering?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Catering.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: That's why it tastes so much better.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Major corporations are all contracted there—Pulmuone, Samsung Welstory, Dongwon Home Food. I mostly ate food from Dongwon Home Food, and frankly, it was better than our National Assembly cafeteria. And our cafeteria isn't bad.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: As far as I know, the National Assembly cafeteria is pretty good.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Yes, it is, but the training center food was better. The Gunderia burger isn't like the old days; it's practically commercial quality. And they have options like Western Course A and Korean Course B. You walk in, select your choice on a touchscreen, and eat.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: That's not traditional military slop anymore.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: It really isn't. What surprised me was that when the Western food line was long—they served spaghetti and it looked delicious—the assistant instructors shouted, "The Western line is long, so eat Korean food if possible!" In our day, we would have run straight to the Korean line even if we wanted Western food, right? But the recruits didn't even pretend to hear them and said, "I'm eating Western food." I really liked seeing that.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Indeed.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: If there's a choice, you should eat what you want. And the instructors didn't berate them for it. So I feel our military has significantly cut down on causing unnecessary suffering.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: But Lawmaker, your purpose for going wasn't just to see how much the military has improved.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Of course not.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: You went to find areas for improvement and back them up with policy, right?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Correct.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Did you find things to improve?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: First of all, regarding the smartwatch distribution program I mentioned earlier, they want to expand it, but that requires budget negotiations with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Is it not yet provided to frontline soldiers, but only to recruits for now?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: No, some frontline units have received them too. But naturally, they haven't been distributed nationwide yet. Even at the training center, about two-thirds seem to have them. So I intend to assist in securing the budget for this. Also, while there, I spoke a lot with recruits, cadre soldiers working as instructors, and junior officers. They shared suggestions and grievances. I want to verify these further to see whether they reflect personal views or universal issues.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: However, one consistent finding is that while working and training conditions for enlisted soldiers have improved significantly, junior officers now face far more responsibilities and much higher expectations, creating severe hardships for them.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: You mean it has become harder for officers to manage soldiers?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: It has become very difficult in certain aspects.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Complaints from parents and such as well.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Exactly. From what I heard, it's very similar to what teachers experience in schools.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: That makes sense.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: 99% of our soldiers work extremely hard and do well. They follow instructions. But about 1% cause problems. Yet the military can no longer harshly berate or severely discipline them like in the past—nor should they. Because of this, the stress level on junior officers has risen dramatically. How we support them through policy is now a major task, similar to protecting teachers' authority in schools. As the conscription rate rises, individuals who wouldn't have joined in the past are enlisting, including delinquent youths. If they refuse to listen knowing the military no longer uses physical punishment...
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: And they continue acting up.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Controlling personnel creates far more stress compared to the past.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Are you planning to investigate this and introduce relevant legislation?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Naturally. But I must be careful not to generalize or treat a brief personal experience as absolute, even as I update my 14-year-old memories. I will verify whether my impressions can be generalized and quantified, and based on that, propose policy alternatives.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Will you go again? Now that you've done the Army, will you visit the Navy and Air Force too?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: My aides were thrilled about that...
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Thrilled? Because you weren't in the office?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: In all seriousness, after returning, I was able to shed light on the military's changing reality—and I believe it has improved, not merely grown easy. Installing air conditioners and providing water purifiers are things we obviously should do.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: But on the flip side, training starts at 3 a.m. with high intensity. So I am definitely not saying the military has just become comfortable. But since this opportunity helped publicize how the military is evolving, other units are now requesting that I visit them as well.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Rep. Chun Ha-ram's military experience series.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Because of that, I might end up visiting additional units in the future.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: You might go again. Units might welcome Rep. Chun with open arms if visiting leads to better unit conditions.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: That would be fortunate.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Since you serve on the National Defense Committee, let me ask a few security-related questions. Reports indicate US President Trump mentioned maintaining good relations with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and ordered the scaling back of joint US-ROK military exercises. How do you view this? A good relationship between the US and North Korea might seem positive for security, but ordering a reduction in joint exercises seems concerning.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Indeed.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: What is your take on this?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: The gap in perception is quite alarming. Security experts note that North Korea's involvement on Russia's side in the Russia-Ukraine war has enhanced its modern drone warfare and combat capabilities, while earning foreign currency, leading them to openly mention unifying South Korea by force. In that sense, our security threats have heightened. Yet the president of our chief ally, the United States, fails to feel a sufficient sense of crisis regarding these threats, which is a major issue. Our Lee Jae-myung administration and security officials must properly explain this heightened North Korean security threat to the US, ensuring aligned perception, but in that regard, it has been a clear failure.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: While President Trump using demands for South Korea to contribute more money for domestic political purposes is nothing new, scaling back actually essential joint military drills is a serious problem. I feel our military and security authorities urgently need to correct this.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: But the bigger question is whether the Lee Jae-myung administration even intends to correct it.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Do you think they might actually be enjoying this situation?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Exactly. Right now, the presidential office is putting out messages about coordinating and hoping this leads to better dialogue with North Korea. That is problematic. We must first agree on the heightened security threat from North Korea before pursuing dialogue. Pursuing dialogue on flawed premises inevitably causes anxiety among the public.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Before President Trump made those comments, President Lee proposed in his Liberation Day speech to initiate discussions among the parties involved to end the war—essentially suggesting talks between North Korea, South Korea, China, and the US.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: He's proposing an end-of-war agreement, right?
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: How do you view this proposal?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: If North Korea were lowering its provocation intensity, we could consider talking. But looking at the DMZ, they are fortifying borders, raising provocation levels, and advancing modern warfare capabilities like drones. Yet we unilaterally push for ending the war, talking about peace and dialogue while North Korea scoffs. Instead of pursuing denuclearization, we are effectively acknowledging them as a nuclear state and offering conciliation if they just halt nuclear advancement. Will this work? I am deeply worried that we will end up being used by North Korea again, giving them time without achieving any progress.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: I see. Let's address a few political matters. Kim Min-seok was elected as the new leader of the Democratic Party. From the Reform Party's perspective, do you think dealing and communicating with the ruling party will be easier compared to under former leader Jung Chung-rae, or will it become tougher?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: It's true former leader Jung Chung-rae treated opposition figures poorly at times, even refusing to shake hands. But apart from that, Kim Min-seok's leadership doesn't look particularly favorable for the opposition either.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Why is that?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: He lacks leeway. Because he is fundamentally aligned with President Lee Jae-myung's presidential office, a ruling party leader should ideally communicate public sentiment to the administration and suggest adjustments. While I congratulate Kim Min-seok, he essentially became party leader thanks to President Lee. Whether he will have room for personal discretion is a point of concern for the opposition.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: So it could actually become even tougher?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Yes.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. Lawmaker, this might be a bit outdated, but the Reform Party didn't perform well in the local elections.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: It was terrible.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Right?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Yes.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Reports expressing concern that the party needs a breakthrough continue to emerge.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: That's true.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Some analytical articles suggested your military experience was part of finding a breakthrough.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: There were many such reports.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: What is your view? Where should the Reform Party begin looking for a breakthrough?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: It's a difficult position. But we believe consistently taking the right stance over the long term holds strength. On top of that, we must actively visit field sites with youthful vigor and show the image of a truly spirited party. I feel we may have come across as a party that merely speaks righteous words.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Visiting field sites.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Yes, in that sense. Rather than relying solely on words, we are striving to ground ourselves in field realities and data—especially as we conduct extensive polling—to present accurate, data-driven arguments.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Recently, Rep. Lee Jun-seok met with former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min and Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sik. Is there any change in your relationship with the People Power Party?
▶ Chun Ha-ram: I don't expect dramatic immediate changes, given Party Leader Jang Dong-hyeok's presence. However, we have no hesitation in meeting and communicating. In particular, forming alliances on specific issues or policies is entirely possible.
▷ Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. We will wrap up here. That was Floor Leader Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party. Thank you.
▶ Chun Ha-ram: Thank you.
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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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