By Jun Ji-hye
The Ministry of National Defense started a program Monday to allow soldiers to borrow mobile phones from shops on military bases, known as post exchanges (PX), when they go on vacation.
“From now on, soldiers who leave their base for vacation will be able to borrow a mobile phone from the PX and use it until they return,” ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said at a regular briefing.
The department in charge of soldiers’ welfare said in its statement that it decided to implement the service to help ease the inconvenience of soldiers who have not been able to subscribe to a mobile phone service during their military term.
“On top of that, the measure will enable each unit to grasp the location of soldiers in case of unexpected accidents,” the department said.
Soldiers can borrow mobile phones by simply depositing money without paying the basic rate. The PX will give the balance back when they return the phones.
Those who stay at barracks can also use the phones, but only at the PX due to security reasons, the department said.
“We installed Mobile Device Management (MDM) system into the phones, which block calling, texting and taking photos within the unit except for PX,” it said.
It added that soldiers and their families were very satisfied when the service was test-operated last year in four units, including the Army’s 27th Infantry Division and the Air Force’s 8th Fighter Wing.
A committee for military culture reform initiated the service in the wake of the death of a private first-class, surnamed Yoon, who belonged to in the Army’s 28th Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.
The 23-year-old died in April last year as the result of torture by six of his colleagues at their barracks, just south of the inter-Korean border.
At the time, critics and human rights activists claimed that such a tragic incident could have been prevented if Yoon had been able to talk to somebody who could help him, such as his parents.
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