HIV Test Mandatory at Military Draft
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
From Monday, all adult males must take human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests during their military draft health checkups, the Military Manpower Administration said Sunday. The administration's Seoul office has been conducting the test, which will soon be available elsewhere, its spokesman said.
According to the Defense Ministry, 75 soldiers were diagnosed as HIV positive between 2002 and 2006. Many were drafted without knowing of their infection with the deadly disease.
Those diagnosed as HIV positive are disqualified from military service. Those detected in barracks are isolated at military hospitals and discharged for treatment.
About 318,000 candidates are to undergo medical checkups for drafting this year, all born before 1990.