As South Korea faces a military manpower shortage due to its low birth rate issue, opinions have emerged suggesting the recruitment of women or the male individuals aged 55 to 75 to fill the gap. However, public opinion in Korea remains divided on these proposals, and debates surrounding military service are expected to continue.
Choi Young-jin, a professor of Political Science and International Relations at Chung-Ang University, criticized the policy of women’s military service in a column contributed to Hankyoreh on Jan. 31. He argued that it is not a solution for a country that needs to focus all its efforts on increasing the birth rate.
Previously, the New Reform Party, under the leadership of Lee Jun-seok, announced that they plan to implement a policy that would require women to serve in the military as early as 2030 if they wish to become police or fire service officers.
Choi argued that women’s military service is not the most efficient solution to address the manpower shortage. According to him, to secure 10,000-20,000 military resources, the government would have to allocate a budget ten times more than the current level. Choi also criticized that advocating for women’s military service under the pretext of gender equality is a narrow perception of the world.
Choi suggested that there is a simpler and more effective solution to the problem of manpower shortage, which is to conscript healthy senior citizens who are willing to volunteer for service. He pointed out that there are currently around 6.91 million men between the ages of 55 and 75 in S. Korea, and a significant number of them are prepared to join the army again for the country.
“If 1% of the 6.91 million volunteers, we could secure about 70,000 in reserve forces. We could even easily mobilize 200,000-300,000, if we pay them as much as the current soldiers,” said Choi.
Choi’s proposal caused a stir in South Korean society, sparking numerous discussions and debates on social media about the Senior Army. Some even created videos and images parodying the proposal and circulated them online.
Netizens who oppose the idea of the Senior Army have expressed their concerns. They question why only men should be required to go to the military even after the age of 70. They also worry that although the military claims they will first recruit volunteers, it may eventually turn into forced conscription due to manpower shortages. There are also concerns about whether officers can effectively control soldiers in their 60s and 70s, as the hierarchical order may collapse.
However, supporters of the Senior Army argue that this policy could be an effective way to address elderly poverty rates in the country. They point to the many elderly people who keep their livelihood collecting recyclables, and suggest that if the military provides food and accommodation, it could be a good policy. Supporters also suggest that this could be a preferable option for the jobless elderly, as the workload would not be as intense as the military service required to do when they were young.
