Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

On September 6th, the Ministry of National Defense(MND) held a 'workshop for the development of women leadership in MND' at the MND Convention to mark the 68th anniversary of the establishment of Republic of Korea's Women's Army Corps.

“As we face a demographic ‘cliff,’ female manpower in the military must no longer be seen as ‘optional,’ but rather as indispensable. Republic of Korea's future military will become an advanced, military, in which male and female soldiers carry out their duties in balance,” said Vice Minister of National Defense Suh Joo-suk, who chaired the workshop.

“The proportion of female officers in the military will be increased from 5.5% in 2017 to over 8.8% by 2022. Eventually, it will rise to at least 20%,” Vice Minister Suh added. He also said that the ministry will make attempts to expand the ratio of female officers in main military positions by abolishing units and positions that have restricted the deployment of female officers, and make efforts to support a better work and family balance, for the benefit of both male and female soldiers.

At the ceremony to mark the establishment of the Women's Army Corps, twelve persons of merit including Lieutenant Colonel Hwang Jeom-suk were given the honor of commendation from the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Gender Equality and Family. In addition, the 'Our Way Connecting Today And Tomorrow' talk concert, which was hosted by Director of the Seoul Acceleration Center For Gender Equity No Joo-hee, opened up free-flowing conversations among female active-duty soldiers and reserve forces.

Later, Colonel Jung Jeong-suk, chief of the MND Gender Equality and Family's Affairs Policy Division, introduced the results of the implementation of MND's gender equality policy thus far and its future plans, and the opinions of those present were gathered regarding the MND’s attempt to 'expand the proportion of female soldiers in the military and enhance their working conditions' as part of Defense Reform 2.0.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >

<Copyright ⓒ The Korea Defense Daily, All rights reserved>