Tag: mandatory service

It looks like South Korea will soon have a lot of people signing up to become “researchers” in order to get out of their mandatory military service. This sounds more like a way for the rich and privileged to avoid serving in the military:

 President Lee Jae Myung held a meeting with young researchers and science students Thursday and discussed ways to expand alternative military service options as part of a broader reform to the military system.

During the meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee said his administration was reviewing an overhaul of the military, including measures to substitute mandatory military service for other forms of service.

“As young men are obliged to serve in the military, they unavoidably face career breaks for a considerable period, which can become a source of conflict and lead to a sense of frustration,” he said.

Responding to a student’s suggestion that young men should be given more research opportunities during their service, Lee said the administration was reviewing such measures.

“On top of that, I plan to carry out major changes in the military,” Lee added, stressing he will seek to provide opportunities for young men to acquire expertise in cutting-edge technology and weapons systems during their service rather than wasting it away.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

That is a question the Korea Times decided to look into and this is what was determined:

Navy officer Lee Jee-ho, center, is seen with his father Lee Jae-yong, right, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, and his grandmother Hong Ra-hee, director of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, during the commissioning ceremony held at the Naval Academy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Nov. 28. Yonhap

Another factor that may have influenced the choices of chaebol heirs is the changing social image of Korea’s military institutions. In recent years, the Army has been embroiled in repeated political controversies and organizational challenges which have taken a toll on its public standing. Issues related to soldiers’ rights, problematic remarks and issues with leadership accountability have fueled criticism that political considerations are increasingly overshadowing the core principles of military professionalism.

By contrast, the Navy has largely remained insulated from such controversies, preserving a stable organizational culture centered on professionalism and international cooperation. This distinction naturally leads chaebol families, who tend to weigh service conditions carefully and consider long-term implications, to view the Navy favorably.

For chaebol offspring, serving as a naval officer can therefore be seen not merely as the fulfillment of an honorable duty, but as an opportunity to accumulate skills and experience essential for future business leadership. In today’s global business environment where collaboration with international clients, partners, and governments is indispensable, international awareness, organizational management capability and crisis leadership are critical assets.

Naval service offers hands-on exposure to complex operational planning, coordination among diverse teams and sustained interaction with foreign counterparts, allowing these competencies to develop organically. For heirs expected to one day lead major corporations or expand global networks, such experience constitutes invaluable real-world training.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I tend to agree with the analysis that the many global engagements the ROK Navy does compared to serving in the other military branches is probably what makes it more appealing to these chaebol heirs. With that said I think it is pretty cool that these heirs are doing their mandatory service and not trying to skip out on it.

I have seen Koreans who are college graduates agree to do longer military service by becoming officers just to have better working conditions compared to just being a standard draftee. Being an officer though requires long military service of 39 months compared to the 18 months of a draftee:

Lee Jee-ho, the only son of Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong, began his mandatory military service Monday as a Navy officer candidate.

The 24-year-old, who was born in the United States in 2000, entered the Jinhae Naval Base Command in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, in the afternoon, accompanied by family. His enlistment follows last week’s announcement that he would renounce his US citizenship and fulfill his compulsory service obligations.

Lee will undergo an 11-week training program before being commissioned as an ensign on Dec. 1. He is slated to serve 39 months.

South Korea requires all able-bodied men to serve in the military for at least 18 months.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but good on Lee’s son for agreeing to complete his mandatory military service. With him being an American citizen could have avoided military service all together, but still decided to do it.

I would support a national service program as long as the military is not the only option:

The nation’s leaders should push harder for America’s youth to participate in public service, including in the military, as the Pentagon copes with recent recruiting shortfalls, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday.

The retired four-star Marine general called on top leaders across the country to implore public service on young Americans as the nation faces an increasingly volatile world and global power challenges from adversaries such as China and Russia. Mattis visited with some of those young Americans on Thursday during a stop at Georgia Military College, an independent, public kindergarten through 12th grade preparatory school and junior college with associate and bachelor’s degree programs.

“How many times have you heard the elected commander in chief, or your senators, or your governors or other elected officials say, ‘Uncle Sam needs you,’” Mattis told reporters before giving a speech on leadership at the school in Milledgeville, Ga. “I don’t care if it’s the Marine Corps, the Peace Corps, teaching, there’s any number of ways to serve our country … Do we really have an expectation today that each of our young people owes something to the country? I think it’s a lot bigger problem than just in the military.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I agree with Mattis that a national service program would be beneficial to the country. Mattis brings up the Peace Corps as an option, but I think a national service program should focus more on programs to improve America not a foreign country. A program I think would be beneficial is bringing back the Civilian Conservation Corps that was a that was responsible for building many public works projects in America’s rural spaces.

I also think a national service program should not be mandatory which means it needs an incentive. I think the incentive could be tuition assistance or a small business grant that gives young people an early advantage in life for completing national service compared to those who did not.

Any thoughts from fellow ROK Heads?

Big salute to Jin for completing his mandatory military service instead of trying to find some kind of exemption to get out of it:

Jin, the oldest member of K-pop supergroup BTS, was discharged from his 18 months of mandatory military service Wednesday, with fans worldwide eagerly anticipating his return to the music scene.

After hugging his fellow soldiers in turn during a brief, teary farewell ceremony inside the 5th Army Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, 61 kilometers north of Seoul, the singer walked out of the compound at about 9 a.m. to be welcomed by his bandmates.

During his service, he served as an assistant drill instructor at the Army recruit training center there.

After saluting in front of the main gate, Jin received a bouquet of flowers and was seen smiling brightly as he reunited with five of his bandmates — J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook. RM, currently serving in a military brass band, marked the occasion with a celebratory saxophone performance of the band’s megahit single “Dynamite.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

With such short mandatory service times in Korea there is not much training V is going to receive to make him a very effective special operator. I wonder if he volunteered for this unit or the ROK military put him in it for publicity reasons?:

Photos of K-pop supergroup BTS member V in the gear of a counter-terrorism unit have been unveiled, a Facebook page on the South Korean military showed Thursday.

Images of V wearing pitch black Special Duty Team (SDT) attire were released Wednesday on the page, which serves as an anonymous bulletin board for military service members.

V enlisted in the military last December for his mandatory service and was accepted to join the military police during boot camp training, according to the Army.

The BTS member has since been assigned to the SDT, which focuses on counter-terrorism and other special operations, under the Army’s 2nd Corps.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It would be great if the Korean government told him no on acquiring citizenship since he waited until he was old enough to avoid mandatory military service:

Shin Yoo-yeol, front row second from left, head of Lotte Corp.’s future growth office, listens to Lotte Innovate officials during CES 2024 in Las Vegas in this Jan. 10 file photo. Courtesy of Lotte Innovate

Speculation is growing that Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin’s oldest son, Shin Yoo-yeol, also known by his Japanese name, Satoshi Shigemitsu, may give up his Japanese citizenship this year to be naturalized as a Korean citizen, as he turned 38 years old on Saturday, according to industry officials, Sunday. At this age, one can acquire Korean citizenship regardless of the completion of military service.

The heir apparent, who currently assumes executive positions at Lotte’s holding company and its health care subsidiary, was born in London in 1986 and grew up in Tokyo. After joining Lotte in 2020, he has worked for his father’s company in Korea and Japan.

Due to his frequent attendance at the conglomerate’s important events recently, he has been expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, who gave up his Japanese citizenship at the age of 41 in 1996 to acquire Korean citizenship that year without completing military service. At that time, men younger than 40 were not allowed to be exempt from military service.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Unlike those that have avoided the mandatory military service obligation in Korea, I definitely have respect for the BTS members who are putting their lives on hold to serve their country:

The remaining four members of K-pop megastar BTS — RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook — will begin their mandatory military service next month, music industry sources said Wednesday.

According to the sources well informed of the matter, RM and V will enlist on Dec. 11, followed by Jimin and Jungkook the next day.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve in the military for about two years. The members were allowed to postpone their military service until the end of the year when they turn 30, under a conscription law revised in 2020.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.