'No more exploitation in name of patriotism'
All major presidential candidates have pledged to reform the system that "exploits our young countrymen in the name of patriotism" in the next government. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Over the past few years, South Korea has grown into the world’s sixth largest exporter and 11th largest economy, yet one occupation, conscripted soldier, still earns less than 200,000 won ($177) a month.
The average monthly wage of a conscripted soldier was about 170,000 won last year, or a bit more than 13 percent of the country’s minimum wage.
Amid growing calls for reform of the system that “exploits our young countrymen in the name of patriotism,” all major presidential candidates have pledged to increase this miserable situation in the next government.
The Democratic Party of Korea’s Moon Jae-in, the frontrunner in the race, promised to raise the average wage by 50 percent of the minimum wage by 2020.
Speaking to members of the online community, “Girlfriends of conscripts,” at a cafe in Seoul, Monday, he said it is time for the government to stop demanding sacrifices from its people and start providing them with proper compensation.
“My government will make sure to protect their human rights and give them proper welfare services,” Moon, who served his own mandatory duty from August 1975 to February 1978, said.
He also pledged to reduce the service period to 18 months from the current 21 months.
The Justice Party’s Sim Sang-jung, who has long been most vocal about the poor treatment of conscripts, also welcomes the reform.
She vowed to raise the average wage to 40 percent of the minimum wage and allocate a bigger share of the national defense budget for conscripts’ welfare.
During a TV debate for the candidates on April 23, she criticized conservative candidates for “abusing the national defense issues only for politics” while paying little attention to people who are doing the job.
“South Korea is the country that pays its servicemen less than 15 percent of the minimum wage,” Sim said. “Conservatives are interested only in buying expensive weapons, but not in treating the people who use the weapons.”
Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, and the other two right-wing candidates are less enthusiastic about raising their wages.
Ahn said he wants to increase the average wage by 25 percent, the least among the top five candidates. But instead, he promised to outsource some non-combat tasks, such as cooking and washing clothes, so that they can focus more on training.
Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party, the first Korean politician to emphasize the need for the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) here, said he also believes the average wage should be raised eventually to 50 percent of the minimum wage.
Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party said he will increase it to 300,000 won.
After the end of the Korean War in 1953, South Korea, which is still technically at war with North Korea, has required all able-bodied men to serve in the military service.
Since then, South Korea, once one of the world’s poorest countries, has achieved enormous economic success but the treatment for conscripts has little improved.
According to survey results revealed last year by Media Research, a local pollster, more than 51 percent said they support adoption of a voluntary military system.