South Korea Recruitment, Training, and Conditions of Service
Army troops participate in offshore training exercise.
Courtesy Republic of Korea Army
All males, except for a small percentage of individuals
considered physically or socially undesirable for military
service, could be drafted into the army. In 1990 there were
407,000 males nineteen years of age who were required to register
for military service. Approximately 9.2 percent of these young
men were rejected for conscription for one of the following
reasons: having a physical or mental disability; possessing a
criminal record; being an orphan; and being born out of wedlock
or having one parent who was not a South Korean citizen.
Conscripts were required to have at least an elementary school
education; 77 percent of those drafted had at least a high school
education.
The Military Manpower Agency was responsible for assigning
recruits to the army, navy, marines, the Korean Augmentation of
the United States Army (KATUSA), and the combat police units of
the Korean National Police. Recruits could request assignment to
a particular service and were assigned based on their education,
technical skills, and physical condition. About 85 percent of
eligible recruits were drafted for periods of between thirty and
thirty-six months. Candidates for the KATUSA program were
required to be high school graduates with some English-language
training. In 1990 approximately 5,000 men in KATUSA served with
the United States Army units in South Korea. In 1990 the air
force was an all-volunteer force.
The conscription system was flexible and allowed most young
men to plan their service in a way that would promote their
individual career goals. High school graduates who had been
accepted into a college or technical school or who were attending
such schools were granted deferments. Conscripts with good
education records and aptitudes suited to particular military
specialties were selected to be trained as specialists in combat
support branches such as signals, ordnance, and engineers. Even
conscripts assigned to combat, however, were encouraged to take
classes during their terms of duty to prepare for employment when
they left the service.
The army, navy, and air force each had a full range of
recruit training centers, schools for technical military
occupational specialties, and officer training courses. Army
recruits were transported from provincial induction centers to
one of the Second Army's recruit training centers for basic
training. Each branch of the army had one or more schools that
offered curricula for enlisted personnel, NCOs, and officers. The
large number of schools and the diversified training programs
available to servicemen supported the army's need for skilled
personnel to use, maintain, repair, and resupply combat forces
during wartime. The air force had schools for pilots, air
technicians, communication and electronics specialists, aircraft
maintenance specialists, and air traffic controllers. The navy
had its own schools oriented to the needs of the three fleets and
the marine corps.
All officers and enlisted personnel were closely supervised
and had to obey strict security regulations that limited their
contacts with civilians, including their own families. All
military personnel were provided with food, clothing, housing,
and medical services. A variety of entertainment and recreational
programs were organized on military installations to reduce
boredom and promote the physical health and morale of service
personnel.
Data as of June 1990
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