Military follows civilian authorities with lifting of mask mandate

An Army private hugs his relatives after completing basic military training in Daegu, southern Korea, on Jan. 25. [NEWS1]

The Ministry of National Defense eased its indoor mask mandate on Monday, in line with the civilian relaxation of the mandate.

Service members are no longer required to wear masks indoors, except at military medical facilities and boot camps. New recruits have to wear their masks at all times until they receive a negative PCR test result.

At key operation-related installations such as command and control rooms, naval vessels and air force command and control bunkers, service members are now "strongly advised" to wear a mask.

They are also strongly advised to wear a mask in areas where there is a high chance of infection, such as personnel transport vehicles and visitors centers.

"At the commanding officer's discretion, the indoor mask mandate can resume in other places with a high risk of infection," the Defense Ministry's spokesperson added in a daily briefing on Monday.

BY LEE JI-YOUNG [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]