SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is expected to abolish the military guardhouse system this year as part of efforts to better protect the human rights of draftees, officials said Saturday. A revision of the Military Personnel Management Act calls for the abolishment of guardhouses and the establishment of additional educational programs instead [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean men who refuse to fulfill their mandatory military service due to religious or personal beliefs will be allowed to serve three years of alternative duty at local correctional facilities starting next year, the defense ministry said Monday. By law, all able-bodied South Korean men must carry out [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean military authorities have decided to add new food choices at military cafeterias based on a big data analysis of military food services. The Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday new plans to control the amount of food given out to service members, revamp menus, and better ensure [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea seems to have begun exploring concrete ways in earnest to help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz amid apparent pressure from the United States. Briefing media on the results of a weekly session of the National Security Council’s (NSC) standing committee Thursday, Cheong Wa [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — With the number of artists eligible for special exemptions from military service set to be reduced, the arts community in question has responded with a backlash to the government’s decision. According to the government’s “Plan to Improve the Alternative Military Service System” released Thursday, 10 competitions that allow winners [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The defense ministry is considering making it mandatory for naturalized male citizens to serve in the military, as other South Korean men must do, in an effort to cope with a decrease in the number of draftees amid a shrinking population, a senior government official said Wednesday. The state-run [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea said Wednesday that it will reduce its number of troops to 500,000 by 2022 in the latest move to tackle looming demographic challenges as Asia’s fourth-largest economy faces a rapidly aging population. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki also said South Korea will reform the country’s military in a [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Jung Yong-hwa, a member of K-pop boy band CNBLUE, was discharged from the military Sunday after fulfilling nearly two years of mandatory service. He thanked his fans and expressed hope that he would return to his job as early as possible during a special fan event at a community [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — As self-development activities using smartphones and a variety of assistance programs are becoming a new trend in the military, many service members said they prefer to study for IT-related certificates. The Defense Media Agency conducted a survey of 854 service members on October 27, asking them about what kind [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The defense ministry pledged Wednesday to mobilize greater levels of personnel and equipment to complete the removal of landmines across the country by 2021, three years ahead of schedule, to ensure public safety. The military buried about 53,000 M14 antipersonnel mines around 37 military bases across the country between [...]