Military to let soldiers use phones more during weekdays

The Ministry of National Defense on Thursday announced that conscripts could soon be able to use their cell phones during the day. [YONHAP]

Conscripts could soon be able to use their personal cell phones during the day.

The Ministry of National Defense announced Thursday that the military was planning to approximately quadruple the amount of time soldiers can use their cell phones on weekdays.

A trial run will launch later this year to examine the possible side effects, the ministry said.

Under the current system, all conscripts are allowed to use their cell phones for three hours a day during the weekdays, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. During the weekends, cell phones are allowed for 12 and a half hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Under the proposed new rules, the military would allow soldiers to use their phones for nearly 14 hours during the weekdays, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

As in the current system, however, soldiers won’t be permitted to use their phones when they are on duty. They also won’t be allowed to keep or use their phones during border patrols, on-duty shifts and large-scale training exercises.

The trial run will last from July to December on nearly 20 percent of all military units.

The Defense Ministry said it was also planning to allow new recruits to use their cell phones for an hour on weekends and national holidays, starting in July.

Conscripts have partially been allowed to use their cell phones since April 2018 during the former Moon Jae-in administration. When President Yoon Suk Yeol took office, he promised to expand usage time.

The ministry said it examined three different types of policies on cell phone use and held a trial run on each.

In the “minimum type,” soldiers were allowed to use their phones after daily morning calls, which are usually held for about 10 minutes from 7 a.m., to 8:30 a.m., and then from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

In the “medium type,” soldiers were allowed to use their phones after daily morning calls to 9 p.m.

The “autonomous type” allowed around-the-clock usage.

Conscripts and military officers responded most positively to the "medium type" policy, the ministry said.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN, LEE KEUN-PYUNG [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]