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Fewer men, shorter service hits draft

Published: 10 Sep. 2009, 01:14

The Korean military will have a difficult time maintaining a desired level of manpower over the next several years, as the number of men subjected to the draft continues to fall and the term of the service shortens, according to data obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo.

According to the Military Manpower Administration, an agency under the Ministry of National Defense that manages service-related issues, the draft rate in the Korean armed forces could fall from more than 94 percent last year to 93 percent this year.

The draft rate refers to the percentage of soldiers currently in service, in relation to the number of soldiers that the military requires each year. The administration’s target for the minimum draft rate is 93 percent.

According to the administration, the draft rate reached over 97 percent in 2005 but has fallen every year since then. It estimates that the figure could bounce back up to 95 percent by 2012 but may not attain the 2005-level in the near future.

An official at the agency pointed to the decreasing male population and also the shortening of the service term. In 2007, the government adopted a plan to gradually cut the length of the mandatory service from 24 months to 18 months by July 2014.

The Defense Ministry estimates that the number of healthy Korean men who turn 20 in a given year, and thus become eligible for service, will continue to decline. There are 275,000 healthy men who turn 20 this year, or about 92 percent of the 300,000 active members that the military requires.

The ministry estimates that the eligible men will peak at 328,000 by 2012 and then will drop to 248,000 by 2021.

A ministry official said the ministry may place those who are not deemed healthy for active duties in non-combat capacity in active units, rather than giving them administrative work at regional government agencies as it does now.

By Kim Min-seok [[email protected]]