Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Starting this month, Korean soldiers will be receiving increased monthly wages. On January 18th, the Defense Ministry announced that according to the revised rules on compensation for public servants to be proclaimed on January 19th, a wage increase for soldiers for January 2018 will be paid retroactively on January 19, and that starting in February, the increased wages will be paid on the 10th of every month.

The first step in the pay rise plan is to pay an increase for January 2018 on January 19 with the aim of reasonably compensating those performing their military service, thus strengthening the nation's responsibility for its soldiers. Following the wage increase to be paid on January 19, sergeants, corporals, privates first class and privates will be paid a monthly salary of 405,700 won, 366,200 won, 331,300 won and 306,100 won, respectively.

According to the results of a survey on soldiers' welfare conducted last year March by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), an active duty soldier needs at least 259,000 won to live in the barracks. This pay rise enables them to save a little extra money while doing military service. The ministry will also be promoting a plan to expand the limited amount of the installment savings deposits for soldiers so that active duty soldiers can save up for their reentry into society after they are discharged. Currently, active duty soldiers can deposit a total of 200,000 won monthly in two commercial banks, 100,000 won in each bank.

When the gradual wage increase plan is completed in 2022, sergeants, corporals, privates first class and privates will be paid 676,100 won, 610,200 won, 552,000 won and 510,100 won each month, respectively. The ministry expects that this will allow them to save about 6 million won, equivalent to college tuition for a semester, by the time they are discharged. “In addition to the pay rise for soldiers, we will push forward various plans to improve our military culture so that active duty soldiers can perform their military service with a sense of pride,” the ministry said.

By Su-Yeol, Maeng <guns13@dema.mil.kr >
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