CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING MILITARY MEALS

[Anchor Lead]

The low quality of meals provided to servicemen in Korea has sparked public outrage. The defense ministry says the root cause of the problem lies in poor maintenance.The military says it will monitor the divisions where poor-quality meals have been served so far and punish those responsible.

[Pkg]

This picture of an army meal shows squid soup without any squid in it, stir-fried kimchi, seasoned seaweed and rice. The Gyeryongdae Service Support Corps has found this meal was actually served to quarantined soldiers who had just returned from leave. It says there wasn't enough food to serve at the time due to poor supply and supervision. After similar photos were placed on social media, the Army also investigated the matter and announced the results. Officials of the 12th Infantry Division, where only 60 hamburgers were served to 120 soldiers, have been reprimanded. An Army official said not enough food was supplied to the division at the time, and there were errors in the meal distribution process. The official added that those in charge of food supervision and management have been strongly reprimanded. Those responsible for poor-quality meals at the 51st Infantry Division have also received warnings. The ministry, which oversees meals at the Defense Communication Command, where meals consisting only of rice with bean sprouts and 20 pieces of cereal were served, has yet to take disciplinary measures against those responsible. Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan said surveillance is underway at other divisions, adding that the degree of punishment should be matched with that of the Gyeryongdae Service Support Corps to ensure fairness. Defense Minister Suh Wook has personally apologized for the scandal. Punitive measures against military officials will likely be inevitable. However, the military is trying to figure out the severity of disciplinary measures as the issue of poor-quality meals in the army is unprecedented.