By Yi Whan-woo
An average of 5,856 Korean men were exempted from compulsory military service each year from 2010 to 2014 after obtaining permanent residency in foreign countries, data showed Monday.
The data, released by Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), showed the number of those Korean nationals stood at 6,527 in 2010, 6,824 in 2011, 5,459 in 2012, 5,254 in 2013 and 5,220 last year.
They were legally freed from serving in the military because they reached the age of 37 after delaying conscription routinely while living abroad, according to the Military Manpower Administration (MMA). The conscription agency complied and submitted the data to Ahn, also a member the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, for the ongoing parliamentary audit session.
Under the MMA regulations, Korean male citizens who are 25 or older and have permanent resident status abroad can be exempted from military duty if through postponing their service they reach 37.
The issue over being exempted from or dodging military service, which often involves people from affluent and powerful families, has added to social rifts.
The lawmaker speculated in a press release that the number of those who are permanent residents of other countries and subject to military exemption was likely to rise.
He pointed out that an increasing number of men had been delaying their conscription since 2011. The number stood at 3,037 in 2011, 3,805 in 2012, 5,299 in 2013, 5,861 in 2014 and 5,061 as of July.
Separate data from the MMA also showed that the number of the Korean male students abroad with expired student visas hit 83 in 2011, 126 in 2012, 156 in 2013, 157 in 2014 and 139 this year, according to Ahn.
He speculated the students were illegally staying overseas to avoid being drafted.
Ahn added that an average of 20 people aged 37 or older per year had retrieved their Korean citizenship over the past five years after acquiring foreign citizenship. Korea does not allow dual citizenship.
“It remains uncertain why they decided to become Korean citizens again,” Ahn said. “But what remains certain is that they became Korean citizens again after avoiding military duty.”