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Seoul / AFP
South Korea’s defence ministry said on Tuesday it was pushing to scrap nearly all existing exemptions to mandatory military service, citing a shortfall in the number of conscripts.
Some 28,000 able-bodied men are exempted every year, either because of the nature of their academic studies, or because they opt to serve their time in the police force or fire service instead.
“Considering the country’s population forecast, we are expecting a shortfall in military personnel of around 20,000 to 30,000 by 2023,” a ministry official said.
The plan, which is still being negotiated with other concerned ministries, would see the exemptions phased out over three years, beginning in 2020. More than 60 years after the end of the Korean War, every South Korean man between the age of 18 and 35 is required to perform two years military service.
The main rationale is the continued threat from nuclear-armed North Korea, given that the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. “The mandatory military service is being maintained in consideration of our security situation that arises from the division of the two Koreas,” a ministry said. The military relies heavily on conscription and military service often involves postings to frontline positions on the border with North Korea.
For many, the two-year duty is an unwanted and deeply resented intrusion that interferes with studies or nascent careers and serves no discernible purpose, especially in a rapidly-ageing society where the size of the workforce is dwindling.