By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The Defense Ministry plans to conduct a mandatory medical checkup on soldiers having less than six months of their service period left from next year, ministry officials said yesterday.
The measure is part of the ministry’s programs to improve the welfare of service members, the officials said.
The ministry will implement it at two Army divisions and two other military hospitals from today for a pilot run, Col. Kim In-soo, head of the ministry’s medical service improvement team, said in a briefing.
The medical examination will include 23 tests including a blood test, urine analysis and tests on hepatitis and liver function, he said. Those found to have problems from the first tests would undergo closer examination at military hospitals.
Advanced medical devices, including digital X-ray, CT and Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanners, and non-commissioned officers with medical qualifications have been installed in designated military units and hospitals, he said.
The ministry has set aside about 6.8 billion won for the medical service improvement program over the next five years, Kim said.
The military has come under criticism over the alleged poor standard of its medical system. In 2004, a retired sergeant Roh Chung-guk, died of stomach cancer months after being discharged from the Army.
Later, it was found that the military wrongly diagnosed Roh’s disease as an ulcer when he went to see medics during his service.