Newly commissioned Air Force officers salute during their commissioning ceremony at the Air Force Education & Training Command in Jinju, 280 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 31, 2023, in this file photo provided by the armed service. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to raise the annual salaries of entry-level military officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) at border units by up to 30 percent by 2027 from this year, the defense ministry said Sunday, amid a push to improve working conditions of troops.
The salary for a new staff sergeant stationed at a front-line unit will increase to 49 million won (US$37,190) in 2027, up 28 percent from this year, according to the ministry’s five-year welfare plan for service members.
The pay of a new second lieutenant at a border unit will rise to 49.9 million won in 2027, up 30 percent over the same period.
In ordinary units behind the front lines, a staff sergeant will see their annual pay increase to 37.6 million won in 2027, up 14 percent from this year, while a second lieutenant’s salary will rise to 39.1 million won in 2027, up 15 percent from this year.
The announcement came amid growing concerns about entry-level military officers and non-commissioned officers increasingly leaving the military due to overwork and relatively low pay.
Last month, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik called for the improvement of working conditions of entry-level officers and NCOs after taking office in October in an effort to boost morale.
The ministry also plans to raise the pay of conscripts, with the monthly salary of a sergeant set to rise to 1.5 million won in 2025, compared with 1 million won this year.
The ministry said that if a soldier enlists in the Army in 2025 and contributes 550,000 won per month throughout the 18-month service period, he can accumulate a total of 20 million won upon discharge, as the government will match 100 percent of the soldier’s contribution and there is an annual interest rate of 5 percent.
(Yonhap)
