Page 245 - 2018 Defense White Paper

2. Raising the Proportion of Female Servicemembers
and Providing Favorable Working Conditions

| Raising the Proportion of Female Service-

members | To support the expansion of
women’s roles in the society and utilize potent
female workforce in the military, the MND has been

raising the proportion of female servicemembers.
In 2017, the percentage of female servicemembers
increased to 5.9% (off icers: 7.4%; NCOs: 5.0%),
Female ROKA special forces NCO candidate
thereby achieving the target percentage specif ied participating in parachute landing fall training for
basic airborne training (August 2018)
in the National Defense Reform Act before the
target year of 2020 (off icers: 7%; NCOs: 5%).
Then, in September 2017, the MND established the Plan for Female Workforce Expansion

and Working Condition Improvement, which includes raising the percentage of female off icers
to 8.8% or higher by 2022. To this end, the MND will gradually increase the number of new

female servicemembers.

| Improving Personnel Management Systems for Female Servicemembers | To achieve
gender equality in personnel management, the MND revised the National Defense Personnel
Chapter 6
Management Directive in January 2018. The new directive abolished the restriction of units and
positions where female servicemembers can be assigned to. It also provided for the establishment
of the common qualif ication standards for company, platoon, and squad commanders that

apply to both male and female servicemembers, which ensures that female servicemembers can
be assigned to any unit without discrimination. The MND also decided to expand the pool
of substitute workforce for absences caused by childbirth or maternity leaves, and introduce

new positions that provide counseling for servicemembers on leave and support the use of a
substitute workforce. The MND will continuously improve the personnel management systems
for female servicemembers to secure potent female workforce and allow them to focus on their

missions under equal conditions.

| Support for Work–Life Balance | The MND is fostering a family-friendly military culture

Section 2 Improving the Welfare and Working Environment for Servicemembers 243