The waning of the South Korean Army’s influence was more palpable last Friday when Defence Minister Song Young-moo announced a reform blueprint that seeks to slash the number of Army personnel by 118,000, including 66 general-grade officers, by 2022. RSIS Asst Prof Michael Raska at NTU Singapore pointed out the need to overcome the old paradigm marked by such factors as the structural dependence on the South Korea-US alliance.