Page 152 - 2020 Defence White Paper

Section

1 Innovation of an Efficient
Defense Manpower Operation

System

The MND is shortening the military service period to meet the public demand for
easing the burden of military service. In preparation for the expected shortage of
troop resources due to the shortening of the service period, the MND is increasing the
proportion of female servicemembers and improving their working conditions while
implementing military expertise-oriented human resource management to prevent force
deterioration.

1. Shortening the Mandatory Military Service Period

Implementing the Service Starting on October 1, 2018, the MND has shor-
Period Reduction Plan tened the military service period of servicemem-
bers to develop the ROK Armed Forces into
technology-intensive, strong elite forces. The service period for the Army and the
Marine Corps was curtailed from 21 to 18 months, the Navy from 23 to 20 months,
and the Air Force from 24 to 22 months with an additional 1 month reduction
following a revision of the Military Service Act. Determined by the time of
enlistment, the service period is gradually shortened by one day on a two-week basis

to prevent any significant differences. In case of the Army, the reduction of the
service period started with those who enlisted on January 3, 2017 and were
discharged on October 1, 2018. The shortened period will reach the full three-month
term with those who will enlist on June 15, 2020 and will get discharged on
December 14, 2021. The discharge date for each enlistment date can be found with
the discharge date calculator available at the Military Manpower Administration
(MMA) website. The shortening of the service period is expected to allow
servicemembers to return to the civilian society earlier and, therefore, contributes to
the efficient use of the country’s human resources.

150 2020 Defense White Paper