SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday outlined an ambitious vision to overhaul South Korea’s military service system, suggesting a shift away from manpower-heavy conscription toward a structure centered on technology and specialized expertise. Speaking at a forum with young scientists at the Blue House guest house, Mr. Lee said the [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s draft system, long understood as a civic obligation and a cultural constant, has been facing a quieter strain beneath the surface: a growing number of young men simply never come back from overseas trips. According to newly disclosed government data, more than 900 South Korean men avoided [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government is considering a major overhaul of how it grants pension credits for childbirth and military service, moving from a system of post-retirement adjustments to upfront support — a change that could save nearly 88 trillion won ($65 billion) in state finances over the long term, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – When Choo Shin-soo, one of South Korea’s most successful Major League Baseball players, recently addressed longstanding rumors about avoiding national team duty after receiving a military service exemption, his explanation that “the team opposed it” did little to quell public criticism. Despite his distinguished 16-year career in American baseball, online [...]
SEOUL, May 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The new chief of the military recruitment agency pledged Monday to push for changes in the country’s supplementary military system as questions arose over its fairness with an exemption of top athletes and musicians from conscription. Kim Jong-cheol, the new commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, made the remark [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Over 8,000 permanent residents have fulfilled South Korea’s military service over the past two decades under a voluntary enrollment system, the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said Thursday. The manpower agency adopted the voluntary enrollment system in 2004 to allow overseas residents whose mandatory military service was exempted or postponed [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – According to a recent report, over the last five years, more than 20,000 men have relinquished their South Korean citizenship. This information is based on data provided by the Military Manpower Administration to the National Assembly, which is currently conducting a national security audit. The data reveals that between 2019 and [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Following the Hangzhou Asian Games, which captivated the nation with a gold-medal performance from the men’s soccer team in a thrilling victory over Japan, attention is now turning to the bestowal of honors. Korean athletes achieved remarkable results during the Asian Games, but the military service exemption granted to gold [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Suga, a member of the K-pop sensation BTS, on Friday began his mandatory military service as a social service agent. Suga, 30, is the third member of the septet to enlist in the military, following Jin in December 2022, and J-Hope in April this year. “I was able to [...]
SEOUL, July 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A number of individuals unfit for military service were erroneously enlisted due to errors in their physical examinations. The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said that four individuals unfit for military service were mistakenly enlisted due to errors in their physical examinations, which took place between 2016 and April of [...]