Military Personnel Spent 34.4 Billion Won on Mobile Phone Gambling

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[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been revealed that military personnel have spent a total of 34.4 billion KRW on illegal cyber gambling using their mobile phones. The Ministry of National Defense announced in April this year that allowing soldiers to use mobile phones "has a positive effect on soldiers' adaptation to service and self-development." However, the downside of soldiers becoming addicted to illegal cyber gambling through mobile phones has surfaced, highlighting the urgent need for measures to prevent this.

According to data received by Kang Dae-sik, a member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, from the Ministry of National Defense on the 6th, there have been 885 cases of gambling detected using mobile phones from April 2018 to September this year. The Army accounted for the most cases with 743, followed by the Marine Corps with 49, the Navy with 24, and the Air Force with 14. The average gambling amount per person was 39 million KRW. Considering that the current monthly salary of an Army sergeant is 540,000 KRW, this amount corresponds to 72 months' worth of salary poured into illegal gambling.

The Ministry of National Defense stated that since April last year, when it began a pilot program allowing soldiers to use mobile phones after work, there have been no security incidents such as secret external leaks through soldiers' mobile phones. They emphasized that side effects would be minimized through strengthened education on preventing illegal cyber gambling and punishment for those who violate regulations.

However, there are also claims that the Ministry was already aware of the side effects of mobile phone use internally. In an official document sent to subordinate units in April last year, the Ministry warned that "soldiers may become excessively dependent on mobile phones" and reduced the allowed usage time by more than one hour. They also instructed to ensure conditions for gambling prevention education, especially noting the high possibility of illegal cyber gambling.

Assemblyman Kang said, "If young people in their 20s fall into gambling, the addiction is severe, and even if they return to society, they will not be able to escape it." He stressed, "Preventive measures such as installing gambling site blocking apps on soldiers' mobile phones must be implemented, and soldiers caught gambling should be severely punished."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.