SEOUL, June 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Rank-and-file soldiers will officially be allowed to use their mobile phones after work starting next month, the defense ministry said Friday. Since April 2019, the ministry has allowed all draftees to use mobile phones, which had previously been banned for security reasons, on a trial basis. “The trial implementation [...]
SEOUL, May 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The military will begin allowing enlisted service members to go on vacation this week after months of restrictions, amid signs of a slowdown in the spread of the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Monday. All enlisted service personnel have been banned from off-base trips in principle since Feb. [...]
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, Nov. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The first thing that pops up in the minds of South Korean soldiers at the sight of the first snow, contrary to popular belief, wasn’t the idea of having to clean up the snow. The Korea Defense Daily, a newspaper published by the Ministry of Defense, conducted a survey [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Padded winter jackets will be distributed to soldiers deployed on the front lines along the border with North Korea. The Ministry of Defense announced that it has been giving out padded winter jackets since October to 124,000 service members working in the cold regions of Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces. [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The defense ministry said Monday it has advised soldiers to stop using flavored e-cigarettes at barracks amid growing concerns about health risks linked to vaping. The measure is in line with the government’s strong advice last month against those products, warning that they could cause serious lung illness or [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Are South Korean soldiers carrying out their mandatory military service financially well off in terms of their life in the barracks, without having to depend on their parents for an allowance? The National Defense Committee at the National Assembly reportedly asked the Ministry of Defense to conduct a study [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of rights violation cases involving soldiers has been on a steady increase over the past five years, government data showed Wednesday. A total of 253 complaints were filed by service personnel with the National Human Rights Commission last year, up from 153 in 2015 to 199 in [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite being away from home, South Korean soldiers deployed overseas enjoyed the Chuseok holiday by staging various meaningful events with local people, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Friday. This year’s Chuseok, the Korean autumn harvest celebration and one of the biggest holidays in South Korea, falls on [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Rank-and-file soldiers, newly allowed to use mobile phones after work, found the measure useful in improving communication not only with those off base but also with their superior officers, a survey showed Tuesday. But some side effects have also been found, such as soldiers accessing gambling, porn and other [...]