Human Rights Commission: "Multi-Child Male Soldiers Should Also Be Included in Duty Exemption"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Human Rights Commission announced on the 9th that it recommended the Minister of National Defense to revise the relevant regulations so that not only women with three children but also men under the same conditions can be exempted from duty shifts.

According to the Human Rights Commission, a male non-commissioned officer belonging to the Army shares childcare responsibilities for three children with his spouse. While women are exempted from duty shifts, there are no regulations regarding duty exemption for men in multi-child families under the same conditions, which led to a complaint of discrimination.

In response, the Army Headquarters and the Ministry of National Defense stated, "The purpose and intent of the system is to protect women's maternity and ensure childcare conditions," adding, "Expanding the exemption from duty shifts would increase the burden of duty shifts on unmarried male and female officers, and it is expected to cause difficulties in organizing duty shifts in small units."

However, the Human Rights Commission's First Committee on Relief of Rights Violations judged that the relevant regulation corresponds more to a multi-child preferential policy rather than maternity protection. Especially in a situation where the perception that childcare responsibilities cannot be placed solely on either women or men is strengthening, the provision exempting only female soldiers from duty shifts is a discriminatory regulation that does not align with the purpose of guaranteeing maternal and paternal rights in childcare as stipulated by the Framework Act on Gender Equality, as well as the changing awareness that work-family balance is necessary.

The Human Rights Commission added, however, that it is true that it is difficult to organize duty shifts by rank composition as one moves to frontline units, and considering that duty shifts are separately organized according to rank and position even within a single unit, it is necessary to consider a method that allows commanders discretion by comprehensively reviewing the circumstances of each unit rather than uniformly expanding the exemption from duty shifts.

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