Page 166 - 2018 Defense White Paper

advanced technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to defense operations including the

acquisition of individual combat systems and transport drones.
Lastly, the MND plans to drastically improve servicemembers’ human rights, welfare benef its,
and working conditions to the level that meets the expectation of the people and social standards.

A total of KRW 24 billion is allocated to human rights protection activities for servicemembers
including the hiring of public defenders to support servicemembers who became victims of
accidents and crimes within the military and the support for the activities of the Committee to

Ascertain the Truth of Military Accidents Resulting in Death. The MND will also invest KRW
21.4 trillion into improving the welfare benef its and working conditions for servicemembers.
The salaries for soldiers will be raised to 50% of the 2017 minimum wage by 2022, while the

daily basic meal cost per soldier will increase to KRW 9,309 by 2023, and the hiring of civilian
cooks as well as nutrition and food hygiene managers will be expanded in ef forts to improve the
quality of food, clothing, and shelter for soldiers. The monthly cash payment for the purchase
of personal articles will be raised to KRW 9,000 per soldier, and the project to modernize the

military barracks of the Army will continue. The military medical care system will also be
improved with the specialization and modernization of military hospitals. The MND also plans

to extend the pilot project, which provided self-development subsidies to 2,000 servicemembers
as of 2018, to all servicemembers by 2023. In addition to these investments, KRW 2.3 trillion
is allocated to ensure working conditions where servicemembers can focus on their military
service. The hiring of a civilian workforce to carry out servicemembers’ fatigue duty, such as

weeding and cleaning, will be expanded to ensure conditions for servicemembers to focus on
combat missions, and the housing support program for career soldiers will be enhanced. As the
female military workforce is growing, the MND will come up with measures to ensure the right

working conditions for female servicemembers. It will bolster the support for the operation of
military daycare centers, provide education to improve gender awareness, conduct investigations
on sexual violence, and expand the operation of counselors for sexual grievances.

To build elite military forces capable of coping with omnidirectional security threats, fiscal
resources in the force development category have been allocated with an emphasis on securing
core forces to deter and respond to nuclear and WMD threats as the top priority as well as forces

needed for wartime OPCON transition for the ROK’s leadership in combined defense and for
the reorganization of the Armed Forces’ structure. Resources have also been allocated to other
priorities of bolstering capabilities to respond to diverse nonmilitary threats, such as terrorism,

164 Chapter 4 Building Elite Armed Forces Using Advanced Technology