SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The defense ministry has temporarily allowed service personnel to have video calls with families and friends as part of efforts to help them reduce stress as they have been banned from leaving their bases or meeting visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic. Soldiers have been banned from off-base traveling, [...]
SEOUL, April 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Physical checkups for potential draftees will be further postponed as part of efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus at military barracks, the military manpower agency said Monday. The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) had planned to resume the checkup next Monday, which has been halted since Feb. 24 [...]
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Four foreign countries have asked South Korea to share its know-how in stemming the new coronavirus at military barracks, officials said Wednesday. Military attaches at the diplomatic missions of the four countries in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East have recently asked the defense ministry what South Korea’s [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — There were fewer smokers among military service members last year, a recent study revealed. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Defense conducted a survey of 4,000 service members between Nov. 20 and Dec. 10 of last year. Smokers accounted for 40.7 percent of all service members, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — A former noncommissioned officer forcibly discharged from the military after sex reassignment surgery has filed an appeal seeking reinstatement, sources said Wednesday. Byun Hee-soo, 22, filed the petition with the Army Headquarters, the sources said, after a military committee ruled last month based on a medical examination that the [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean military has been reconsidering whether to participate in an upcoming multinational military exercise in Thailand as the new coronavirus continues to spread, officials said Sunday. The 39th Cobra Gold exercise, co-sponsored by the Thai and U.S. armed forces, is scheduled to be held from Feb. 26 [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has quarantined about 800 soldiers and postponed regular training sessions for reserve forces as part of efforts to contain the new type of coronavirus, defense ministry officials said Monday. The quarantined soldiers have either visited China or surrounding regions recently, or had contact with such visitors, while [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of female soldiers in the South Korean military stood at 12,602 last year, accounting for 6.8 percent of the total forces, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The tally is up from 5.5 percent in 2017, according to the ministry. South Korea aims to expand the number to [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will abolish the military guardhouse system in July as part of efforts to protect the human rights of draftees, defense ministry officials said Sunday. The move comes after parliament passed a revision of the Military Personnel Management Act earlier this month, which calls for the abolishment of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of military deserters has decreased more than 80 percent since 2013, the defense ministry said Monday. A total of 105 conscripts attempted to abandon their units in 2019, down 83.7 percent from 643 desertions in 2013, according to the ministry. During the cited period, the number of [...]