Women May Volunteer as Rank-and-File Soldiers

South Korea is considering allowing women to volunteer as rank-and-file soldiers in an effort to make up for an expected shortfall in military manpower.

"The Defense Ministry is considering introducing a system in which women can volunteer to serve in the rank and file," a government official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency, adding feasibility studies will be completed by 2011.

Women can already serve as officers, but they have been barred from being enlisted with men who serve in all capacities as part of mandatory armed services.

South Korea plans to slash the number of its armed forces from 665,000 to a little over 500,000 by the year 2020 while modernizing its weapons systems.

The country also suffers from one of the world's lowest birth rates. According to recent figures from the World Health Organization, South Korea had an average of 1.2 babies per woman of reproductive age.

But the government official said the potential decision to allow women to serve among men in the rank and file hinges on the military's ability to accommodate them.

"There will be many obstacles" as the South Korean military has been optimized for service by men over a period of decades, the official said.

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn