By Kim Rahn
Women may take up around 10 percent of all military personnel by 2022 as part of the government’s defense reform measures, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.
According to the reform drive, the ministry plans to select 2,450 female commissioned and noncommissioned officers a year by 2022, almost double the current number of 1,100, by gradually increasing the number annually.
“The ratio of female troops in South Korea is very low compared to many other advanced nations,” a ministry official said.
Along with the increased number, the ministry will lift restrictions on female troops’ assignments: the current rules prevent women from being assigned to general outposts and taking command posts at battalions or squadrons of coast and riverside defenses.
“We will map out new criteria on commanders, which will be applied to both men and women in the military,” the official said.
The ministry will also make efforts to create a “family-friendly” environment to prevent female officers from quitting the service due to childbirth or childcare. It will increase the number of daycare centers for soldiers’ children from the current 124 to 172 by 2021.
To prevent sexual harassment, the ministry will expand lecture programs on sex crimes to soldiers and apply zero tolerance to those committing such offenses.