CCTV to Stand Night Watch... Mixed Reactions Over Potential Absence During Midnight Emergencies

The military is pursuing a measure that would allow commanders to eliminate nighttime guard duty for soldiers at military units equipped with security CCTV cameras, depending on their assessment.

The Ministry of National Defense recently issued a legislative notice for a revision to the military unit management regulations containing these provisions.

The notice period runs until August 10.

The revision stipulates that if the purpose of night guard duty can be achieved through alternative confirmation systems such as CCTV for security operations or unit management, and patrols, commanders at the battalion commander level or higher can use their discretion to decide whether or not to operate night guard duty based on unit conditions.

Current regulations typically mandate that night guard duty be organized in pairs of two.

This method involves soldiers taking turns standing guard for one to two hours at designated locations such as living quarters or hallways inside the barracks, starting right after evening roll call until wakeup the following day.

The main purpose of night guard duty is to check the number of sleeping personnel so that immediate responses can be made in the event of casualties or desertion. However, the military explained that the necessity of night guard duty has significantly decreased as soldiers' living facilities have modernized, including the installation of CCTV.

It is known that some units have already eliminated night guard duty by utilizing CCTV.

The Army's 23rd Guard Brigade reportedly reorganized its barracks facilities last year to consolidate living spaces onto a single floor and installed CCTV in the living quarter hallways, thereby abolishing night guard duty.

However, this will only apply to units deemed capable of ensuring security and safety through CCTV and patrols alone, and guard duty can still be operated if deemed necessary due to unit missions, meaning night guard duty will not disappear from all units.

When this plan was made public, mixed reactions emerged. Some expressed concern over potential risks to unit operations, asking, "When an emergency occurs while the unit is asleep, the night guard is the first to respond; how can CCTV possibly replace that?" Meanwhile, others welcomed the change, noting, "KATUSA and the Air Force never had night guard duty to begin with."

Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.