Page 125 - 2018 Defense White Paper

borne by the youth who also face challenges in education and employment. It is also expected

to allow servicemembers to return to the civilian society earlier and, therefore, contribute to the
eff icient use of the country’s human resources.

| Measures to Prevent the Decline in Combat Power | To prevent the decline in combat
power caused by the shortened service period, cutting-edge defense technologies for modern
war fare will be strengthened, and the manpower structure will be restructured into one centered

on of f icers and NCOs with positions requiring prof iciency to be filled in by NCOs. Moreover,
the soldier training system will be enhanced, and realistic training will be strengthened to
improve soldiers’ prof iciency as early as possible through scientif ic training. At the same time,

noncombat missions will be minimized to help soldiers focus on combat missions while serving
in the military. Thanks to such comprehensive defense reform, the overall strength of the ROK
Chapter 4
Armed Forces will be actually enhanced.

Section 2 Reducing Standing Troops and Restructuring the Defense Manpower Structure 123