By Choi Sung-jin
One in every 10 high-ranking officials has been exempted from compulsory military service. Given fewer than one in every 100 ordinary people experiences a similar benefit, the senior officials' rate of exemption from mandatory army service is unduly high, said Rep. Kim Jung-ro of the opposition People's Party, Monday.
According to data submitted by the Military Manpower Administration at the request of Rep. Kim, of the total 25,338 officials on Grade 4 or higher who have to serve in the military, 2,520, or 9.9 percent, have been exempted from active duty.
Among their 17,680 sons and grandsons, 785 (4.4 percent) were also immune from military service. In Korea, all young, healthy men have to finish mandatory military service, which is set at 21 months now.
Considering that 0.3 percent of all men who underwent a physical examination for the draft in the first half of this year were exempted, the exemption rates of senior public officials and their sons and grandsons were about 33 times and 15 times higher than that of ordinary people, respectively, the data showed.
Among reasons for the exemption of senior officials and their descendants were physical problems, such as excessive myopia and spinal disk disorders.
Also, two out of 10 ranking officials (5,722, 22.5 percent) finished their military service as reservists instead of joining the army as active-duty soldiers. The rate is also more than twice the comparable figure of 10.2 percent for ordinary conscripts categorized as replacement resources status in the first half of the year, the data showed.
"High-ranking officials and their children, who have to set the example, have been unduly exempted from military service for reasons of suspicious ailments, which might have made young people who are faithfully fulfilling their duty feel discouraged and disenfranchised," the lawmaker said.
One in every 10 high-ranking officials has been exempted from compulsory military service. Given fewer than one in every 100 ordinary people experiences a similar benefit, the senior officials' rate of exemption from mandatory army service is unduly high, said Rep. Kim Jung-ro of the opposition People's Party, Monday.
According to data submitted by the Military Manpower Administration at the request of Rep. Kim, of the total 25,338 officials on Grade 4 or higher who have to serve in the military, 2,520, or 9.9 percent, have been exempted from active duty.
Among their 17,680 sons and grandsons, 785 (4.4 percent) were also immune from military service. In Korea, all young, healthy men have to finish mandatory military service, which is set at 21 months now.
Considering that 0.3 percent of all men who underwent a physical examination for the draft in the first half of this year were exempted, the exemption rates of senior public officials and their sons and grandsons were about 33 times and 15 times higher than that of ordinary people, respectively, the data showed.
Among reasons for the exemption of senior officials and their descendants were physical problems, such as excessive myopia and spinal disk disorders.
Also, two out of 10 ranking officials (5,722, 22.5 percent) finished their military service as reservists instead of joining the army as active-duty soldiers. The rate is also more than twice the comparable figure of 10.2 percent for ordinary conscripts categorized as replacement resources status in the first half of the year, the data showed.
"High-ranking officials and their children, who have to set the example, have been unduly exempted from military service for reasons of suspicious ailments, which might have made young people who are faithfully fulfilling their duty feel discouraged and disenfranchised," the lawmaker said.
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