Page 196 - 2020 Defence White Paper

commissioned officers, while noncombatant areas will be reinforced with civilian
workforces to acquire and utilize the required expertise. In order to secure skilled
combatant by improving the cadre acquisition and operation system, the cadre rank
structure will be reorganized from the existing pyramid shape to a pot shape which
enables "small-scale acquisition and long-term utilization of cadres". The MND
also plans to promote the priming of reserve forces into an elite force and establish
a realistic scientific training system to minimize the impact of troop reduction. By
2024, a total of 202 reserve military training camps nationwide will be merged into
40 scientific reserve army training units, thereby maximizing the effect of training.
Compensation for mobilization of reserve forces will also be raised to the level of a
sergeant’s salary to boost the servicemembers’ morale and guarantee better training
conditions. In spite of the shortening of the military service period, the MND aims to
establish a realistic scientif c training system to conduct trainings in an environment
similar to actual combat without having any restrictions in time and space, which will
improve the ROK Armed Forces’ prof ciency within a short period.
Fourth, the MND plans to persistently improve servicemembers’ human rights,
welfare benefits, and working conditions to the level that meets the expectation
of the people and social standards. For the reasonable compensation for military

service, servicemembers’ salary will be raised to KRW 676,000–which is 50 of
the minimum wage of sergeants in 2017–by 2022, and of the sergeants to KRW
963,000 by 2025. Furthermore, the servicemembers’ fatigue duty, such as weeding
and cleaning, will be carried out by civilian workforces to ensure conditions for
servicemembers to focus on combat missions and grant them opportunities for self-
development, such as financial aids, thereby creating a productive military service
environment. To improve the military medical system to the level that meets the
people’s standards, medical indemnity insurance for all servicemembers will be
introduced throughout the military, which will lower the individual burden of
medical expenses when using private hospitals. For stable service conditions and
continuous improvements in the aging residential environment, the MND will
acquire 197,000 houses and rooms for military cadres, and will increase the number
of daycare centers within military premises from 155 to 187 by 2025 to create a
balance between work and personal life.
Lastly, the MND will foster a safe, citizen-friendly defense environment to build
trust between servicemembers and the people. Efforts will be made to protect
servicemembers from particulate matter and infectious diseases by supplying
protection masks and replacing military-purchased passenger vehicles with
green vehicles, while aging facilities such as wastewater treatment stations and

2020 Defense White Paper