Kim Moon-soo, a candidate in the presidential primary, announced on the 23rd promises to revive the ‘military credit system’ and expand ‘female military professionals.’ This appears to target the sentiments of the 'Male in his 20s' demographic.
Kim noted through the camp press release on that morning, “We plan to grant military credits to all military service members regardless of gender so that those who have dedicated themselves to the nation receive fair compensation,” promising to promote the revival of the military credit system.
Kim emphasized, “The military credit system is the minimum recognition for young individuals who have dedicated themselves to the country in a conscription system.”
The military credit system began in 1961 with a 5% credit for civil service recruitment but was abolished on December 23, 1999, due to a constitutional court ruling that deemed it unconstitutional. At that time, the Constitutional Court judged that the system lacked constitutional grounds and violated the equality rights and rights to public office for specific groups, including women and the disabled.
Kim's plan is to grant military credits to all military service members without regard to gender so that those who have dedicated themselves to the nation receive fair compensation. Through this, he aims to enhance pride in military service and support the stable social integration of military service members.
It remains to be seen whether the military credit system will be adopted as a presidential campaign promise by the People Power Party. The Yeouido Institute, the think tank of the People Power Party, recently proposed awarding credits to military service members of both genders in public sector recruitment as a direction for election promises. Hong Joon-pyo, a candidate in the People Power Party presidential primary, also promised to revive the military credit system, noting, “We will provide benefits to all military service members regardless of gender, and the credits will be adjusted reasonably.”
Kim also stated that he would significantly increase the number of female soldiers. He said, “We will expand female military professionals in areas such as AI unmanned and manned combined operation of advanced equipment, military prosecution, military administration, and logistics,” adding that he plans to initially increase the proportion of female soldiers to 30% based on other developed countries.
According to Kim's camp, in developed countries such as Northern Europe and Israel, the proportion of female soldiers is about 30%, while in South Korea it stands at 11% (approximately 119,200 individuals). Therefore, the plan is to increase the participation of excellent female talents in defense to enhance the military's professionalism and induce diversification.