By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff reporter
The Navy is suffering from a considerable drop in the number of applicants for enlistment, following the sinking of a warship that took the lives of 46 sailors in March, a lawmaker said Sunday.
Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the main opposition Democratic Party said the number of applicants has decreased by half over the past few months in the aftermath of the Cheonan sinking by a North Korean torpedo in the West Sea.
The lawmaker said during the January-March period, the Navy saw 7,974 prospective seamen apply for 2,787 vacancies, or an average of about 2.87 people for each opening for enlisted servicemen.
The competition rate, however, dropped to 1.48 during the second quarter, in which only 2,352 applied for 3,471 available positions.
The competition rate stood at 1.49 in April, 1.63 in May and 1.3 in June.
In 2009, the competition rate in the first quarter was 2.6 and that of the second quarter, 2.12.
"The figures refute the Navy's claim that the Cheonan incident is not attributable to a drop in the number of applicants," Rep. Shin said. "The military should urgently address the growing tendency to avoid joining the Navy."