Tag: mandatory service

Well it looks like that if Seungri some how gets off from all the charges he is filing the ROK government is ready to still get him by making him do his mandatory military service:

Seungri, a former member of K-pop boy band BIGBANG, has been sent a notification of his mandatory military service, while he has been on trial on charges of gambling and arranging prostitution, the military manpower agency said Tuesday.

Last month, the prosecution indicted the scandal-ridden celebrity without physical detention on charges of gambling overseas and breaching the foreign exchange transaction act, as well as the act on the punishment of arranging commercial sex acts. 

“As the investigation into singer Seungri finished, we’ve sent the notice to have him serve the due duty,” the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said in a release.

If he is allowed to postpone military service repeatedly because of his trial under way at a civilian court, he could eventually end up evading the service as the legal age limit for the service could pass, the agency said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This guy had an easy job as it was for his mandatory service and found a way to blow it. They should send him to a frontline military unit to complete this service to send a message to anyone else trying to defraud their mandatory service time:

The Seoul Administrative Court found Tuesday that a man completing his alternative military service working at his father’s company had violated the Military Service Act.  

A 37-year-old man surnamed Yoo had served alternative military service for three years between March 2013 and February 2016 as an expert researcher at an institute approved by the military. After requesting a transfer from the initial institute he was serving at, Yoo spent 14 months, from February 2014 to when he was discharged, at the research institute which is run by a company of which his father was the representative director.

The National Police Agency only uncovered the connection in 2018 while probing the company for another allegation of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act. Police found during the probe that Yoo’s father had been the representative director effectively running the research institute. The Military Manpower Administration in turn determined Yoo to have violated the Military Service Act.  

In November 2018, Yoo received a notice from the Military Manpower Administration to serve his compulsory military duty again. However, because Yoo was over 36, he was told to serve as a public service worker. In turn, Yoo filed a suit against the Military Manpower Administration to withdraw its cancellation of his completion of alternative service.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

If South Korea’s conscripts get paid minimum wage this will probably lead eventually to a major push to professionalize the force and do away with mandatory service:

Both the public and the government are increasingly aware of soldiers’ right to due monetary compensation, shifting away from considering military service as a statutory civic duty without adequate financial return, experts say. 

“There’s the growing public understanding that we can no longer urge soldiers to serve active duty out of their allegiance or commitment to the country,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.

Besides, the intense debate regarding the legal minimum wage here has had an impact, he said. 

“We’ve recently had and continue to see a heated debate about setting the minimum wage, and while doing that, I think, we’ve come across the military sector as well — whether conscripted soldiers are paid right doing what they do.” 

Starting this year, sergeants will receive an increased monthly stipend of 540,900 won ($466). Corporals and privates will receive slightly less. The hike marks a 33 percent on-year jump. 

That is about 40 percent of the country’s minimum monthly wage in 2017. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I guess besides people becoming Jehovah’s Witnesses they can now eat their way out of their mandatory military service:

A man accused of putting on weight by eating fried chicken to avoid mandatory military service was acquitted of breaking the law on conscription, Incheon District Court said Sunday.

The 22-year-old college student reportedly underwent a physical examination for military service in August 2016. The test showed that the man, who weighed 106 kilograms and was 169.6 centimeters tall at the time, had Body Mass Index of 36.8. 

People with BMI of 33 and higher can be exempted from full-time military service and work as a public service worker. 

The prosecutors indicted the man for violating the military service law, arguing that he deliberately gained weight by eating fried chicken and drinking alcohol ahead of the physical exam to avoid the conscription. They also accused the man of stooping when getting his height measured so as to increase his BMI. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This is good news for ROK Army conscripts:

Enlisted soldiers will be allowed to stay off base for about four hours after hours during weekdays starting in February as part of efforts to protect the rights of conscripts. 
The Defense Ministry on Thursday announced a set of new guidelines that will allow soldiers to leave their base from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. up to twice a month. They can meet family and friends, pursue their studies or enjoy themselves as long as their fitness for combat is not affected.
Currently conscripts are confined to the district where their barracks is for fear that they will not make it back in time in an emergency. But in future they can travel as far as a two-hour drive from their base. 
Some small businesses near bases were against the plan because they were afraid of losing customers, and some pundits warned the plans could affect discipline. But a ministry spokesman said, “We’re going to rely on common sense when we let soldiers spend time off base.”

Chosun Ilbo

So what do people think of France’s new mandatory service law?:

The French government has introduced a plan to bring back national service for all 16-year-olds.

It was an idea put forward by Emmanuel Macron in his presidential campaign, to promote a sense of civic duty and national unity among French youth.

But some remain unconvinced of the benefits.

The new national service will cover all 16-year-olds, girls as well as boys, and will be divided into two distinct phases.

National service in two parts

The first phase is a mandatory one-month placement with a focus on civic culture, which the government says will “enable young people to create new relationships and develop their role in society”.

Voluntary teaching and working with charities are among the options being looked at, alongside traditional military preparation with the police, fire service or army.

The second phase is a voluntary placement of at least three months and up to a year, in which young people will be encouraged to serve “in an area linked to defence and security” – but again, they could opt to carry out volunteer work linked to heritage, the environment or social care.  [BBC]

You can read more at the link, but it seems this more like a long summer camp than national service.  I guess it is better than nothing.  It will be interesting to see how this turns out because I assume there will be legal challenges to it.

It looks like there is going to be a surge of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Korea after this court ruling:

South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that moral scruples and religious beliefs are valid reasons to refuse compulsory military service, a landmark change in the court’s decades-long stance on conscientious objection and one that’s expected to impact the fate of over 900 men.

Thursday’s verdict concerned only one defendant, a 34-year-old Jehovah’s Witness named Oh Seung-heon. In a nine to four vote, the full bench ordered an appellate court to retry his case, effectively clearing him of charges that he violated the Military Service Act.  (…….)

Conscientious objection has long been a subject of public debate in South Korea.

More than 19,000 conscientious objectors were criminally punished under South Korean law since the 1950s, mostly serving 18 months in jail. A majority of those objectors were Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian sect that bases its refusal to serve in the military on Isaiah 2:4, a part of which reads, “Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

South Korea’s Supreme Court said Thursday that it “violates the practice of tolerance towards minorities, a spirit of free democracy, to uniformly force the implementation of mandatory military service and criminally charge those who fail to fulfill.” In that sense, the court continued, conscientious objection falls into the category of a “valid reason” not to comply with the military’s call for enlistment.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the Jehovah’s Witness defendant did say he is willing to do mandatory civilian service.  I wonder if there is a religious reason not to be part of the riot police?

Here's an idea. Either make the SKorean military an all-volunteer force or keep the current system but don't exempt anyone. That was easy. https://t.co/1m9knKW58n

— John Lee (The Korean Foreigner) (@koreanforeigner) September 4, 2018

I am sure it was sweet to beat Japan in the Asian Cup Finals, but the fact they don’t have to do their mandatory military service is probably the most satisfying part of this win for the players:

South Korea defeated Japan 2-1 to defend the men’s football title at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

In the final match at Pakansari Stadium in Cibinong on Saturday, the men’s football team finished the 90-minute main game in a scoreless draw.

During extra time, Lee Seung-woo scored the first goal and Hwang Hee-chan added another minutes later.

South Korea successfully defended its Asiad title following their victory at Incheon 2014 and came to hold the most Asiad titles in men’s football with five.

The victory also gave the 20 Taegeuk Warriors, including captain Son Heung-min, exemption from mandatory military service that usually takes about two years.  [KBS World Radio]