Defense ministry to create cybersecurity tech team

Published : Apr 17, 2017 - 15:53 Updated : Apr 17, 2017 - 15:53

South Korea's defense ministry said Monday it plans to create a cybersecurity technology team and a multilateral security department in an organizational change.

It would instead abolish a culture policy department tasked with improving life in the barracks amid continued reports of bullying cases in the nation's 625,000-strong military.

In an advance notice of a related bill on the scheme, the first in a decade to redraw the organizational chart of its headquarters, the ministry said its existing morale-boosting policy department will take over the duty, with the size of its entire workforce unchanged.

The decision to launch an independent team to specialize in cybersecurity-related technology on top of the cyberpolicy department came as concern has grown about North Korea's cyberwarfare capability.

The flag of South Korea's Ministry of National Defense in a file photo. (Yonhap)

Last year, the South Korean military's intranet suffered hacking attacks.

Some military data, reportedly including some confidential information on the South Korea-US joint operational plans, were leaked. The South's authorities blamed the North for the incident.

The ministry will also establish a department on multilateral security cooperation to deal more effectively with defense partnerships with other countries.

South Korea has hosted the annual Seoul Defense Dialogue, a regional security forum involving senior military officials, since 2012. (Yonhap)