National Power Lim Jong-deuk "5 out of 8 types of military service exemptions, less than quota for 5 consecutive years"

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeon Myeong-hoon = It was found that most of the eight types of special military service systems currently in operation do not meet the allotted number of people.

On the 12th, People Power Party lawmaker Lim Jong-deuk, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, analyzed data submitted by the Ministry of National Defense and found that five types of military service special treatment systems, including industrial technical personnel, professional research personnel, public health doctors, onboard ship reserve personnel, and public interest legal officers, have not met their quota even once for five years from 2021.

The current military service special treatment system includes a total of eight types, including professional research personnel, industrial technical personnel, onboard ship reserve personnel, public health doctors, military service evaluation doctors, public interest legal officers, public quarantine veterinarians, and arts and sports personnel. Among these, there is no separate quota for arts and sports personnel who are selected based on rankings in international sports competitions and fine arts competitions.

Among the seven types of industrial technical personnel with a quota, the quota for industrial technical personnel was 3,200 as of 2025, but only 2,188 were selected. Only 1,180 professional research personnel were selected out of a maximum of 2,300, and only 763 people were selected as onboard ship reserve personnel out of a maximum of 1,000.

In addition, only 743 of the 784 public health doctors were enrolled in 2025, and only 64 of the 100 public service attorneys took advantage of the military service exemption in the same year.

The quota for public quarantine veterinarians was 150 in 2021-2022, but the shortage has continued for three years since 2023.

The only special military service personnel who filled 100% of their quota in the past five years were military service evaluation doctors, who are personnel for military service administration itself. The number of military service review doctors is small, at 52 to 66.

In light of this chronic shortage of quota, it is pointed out that the ineffective military service special system should be drastically reduced or abolished in a reality where military service resources are rapidly decreasing.

Rep. Lim Jong-deuk previously argued that the entire military service special system should be abolished at the Ministry of National Defense's government audit held on the 7th. At the same meeting, Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol explained the special military service system, saying, “The goal of the Ministry of National Defense is to gradually reduce it and ultimately abolish it.”

However, since the military service exemption system is linked to the policies of seven ministries, adjusting the interests of each ministry is considered a difficult task.

Rep. Lim said, “The Military Manpower Administration must work closely with the Ministry of National Defense to lead a government-wide reform,” and added, “Fairness in military service is a basic promise that the nation must keep to young people, so system reform should no longer be delayed due to the interests of each ministry.”