The Army is taking proactive steps to explore the more effective integration of female soldiers. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – Amidst a dwindling birth rate and diminishing military recruitment resources, the South Korean Army is faced with the grim prospect of being unable to fill as many as 300,000 positions by 2040. In response, the Army is taking proactive steps to explore the more effective integration of female soldiers.
On Monday, the Army Headquarters made an official announcement regarding the commencement of a comprehensive study aimed at optimizing the role of female soldiers in the foreseeable future.
The military is currently grappling with a challenging environment marked by a decline in troop numbers. The Army’s personnel strength, which stood at 548,000 soldiers in 2006, dropped to 506,000 in 2012 and 464,000 in 2018, and currently stands at around 365,000. Anticipations for 2040 paint a bleak picture, with projections indicating that the number of 20-year-old men may plummet to 140,000, thereby making it increasingly challenging to fill even 300,000 positions.
Significantly, the number of female soldiers reached 16,000 in the past year, and the percentage of female officers and noncommissioned officers witnessed an increase, rising from 6.2 percent in 2018 to approximately 9 percent last year.
Originally envisioned with the goal of elevating the percentage of female soldiers to 15.3 percent by 2027, the Army now seeks to expand this representation even further.
The study’s primary objective, as described by the Army, is to “determine the scale and appropriate proportion for the expansion of female soldiers in the upcoming 2040s, propose complementary military service systems, such as volunteer soldiers, and establish expansion targets for each category.”
Particularly noteworthy is the Army’s focus on “complementing the military service system, including the volunteer system.” This element of the study is drawing attention because some experts argue that the ‘female auxiliary soldier system’ should be incorporated into the comprehensive investigation.
The issue of ‘female support soldiers’ remains a topic of controversy due to its intersection with gender issues. The Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces Administration are maintaining their stance that the examination of female conscription is not currently underway, deeming it premature and potentially a source of social conflict.
In its forthcoming work report, the Army intends to unveil the ’2040 Army Force Structure Plan’ by December, which will outline a blueprint for the design of the Army’s force structure in 2040.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
