30% of High Officials Exempted from Military Service

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30% of High Officials Exempted from Military Service

The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) announced on October 29 that about 30 percent of high officials and lawmakers have been exempted from military service and the portion of lawmakers' sons who were exempted from military service is higher than the portion of sons of other public officials.
According to the MMA's report on military service, among 5,885 high officials who are subject to military service, 69.2 percent have completed ordinary military service, while 11.3 percent served short-term military service and 17.4 percent were exempted from the service.
Classified by position, 28.2 percent of lawmakers have been exempted from the service, while 26.7 percent of diplomatic officials, 23.6 percent of ministers and vice-ministers, 21.8 percent of bureau-chief-level officials, 18.7 percent of prosecutors, 17.4 percent of officials at presidential secretary offices and 12.5 percent of provincial governors have been exempted from the service.
Regarding the officials' sons, among 6,739 persons, 10.1 percent have been exempted from the service.
Nineteen percent of sons of National Congress officials were exempted from the service, followed by the sons of provincial governors at 11.7 percent, the sons of government officials at 10 percent and the sons of provincial congress officials at 9 percent.
Regarding the reason for the exemption, 78.2 percent of sons of high officials, who didn't serve in the military, were exempted because of health factors, while 36.5 percent of ordinary men were exempted largely because of poverty, low-level formal schooling or criminal histories.
A source at the MMA said, 'Although the portion of exempted high officials and their sons is actually less than average, we still suspect corruption, as the ratio of exemption because of disease is so high.'
Kang Joo-an : jooan@joongang.co.kr
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