By Jun Ji-hye
The government will be empowered to check whether high-ranking public officials or their sons dodge the draft beginning next year.
The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said Tuesday it has revised the military service act so that it will be able to trace conscription records of the officials and their sons, based on the revised law approved by the National Assembly on Nov. 30.
The revision is meaningful in that it established a legal basis to separately oversee military records of senior officials and their sons, some of whom often become targets of public criticism for their doubtful exemption from military service, MMA officials said.
All physically able young men are subject to compulsory military service for about two years in South Korea, as the two Koreas remain technically at war.
“The measure is to raise fairness and transparency over the course of senior officials and their sons’ fulfillment of their military duties,” said MMA vice spokesman Kim Yong-du.
There have been frequent cases where high-ranking figures were exempted from military service for suspicious reasons including the renouncing of their Korean citizenship.
According to Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, 18 sons of high-ranking officials were exempted from military service this year after giving up their Korean citizenship. Most of them gained American citizenship.
“Sons of high-ranking public officials who avoid their obligation to serve in the military deserve criticism by every means,” he said during a parliamentary audit in September. “Stern measures against them are necessary.”
Controversy regarding alleged draft dodging was one of the most sensitive issues during a parliamentary confirmation hearing as well.
Rep. Lee Wan-koo, former prime minister, had to apologize for himself and his second son, who did not serve in the military, during his confirmation hearing in February after being nominated for the position.
The MMA said it considers extending the application of the revised law to entertainers and athletes, as their alleged evasion of military service has become a social issue as well.
Golfer Bae Sang-moon, the two-time PGA Tour winner, began his military service last month after losing his legal battle against the MMA’s Daegu office at which he had hoped to delay his military service.
In October, Daegu police sent him to the prosecution for his failure to return home following the expiration of his overseas travel permit on Dec. 31 last year.
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye