Yoon Suk-yeol "Soldiers' Monthly Salary 2 Million Won"... Bold Move to Appeal to Young Men

Government Plan Doubles
Lee Jae-myung Also Proposed '2 Million Won' but Assumes Volunteer Military System

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, has expressed his intention to raise the monthly salary of military soldiers to 2 million won. This is interpreted as part of his recent strategy to capture the 'Itaedam (men in their 20s)' demographic.

On the 9th, Candidate Yoon posted a one-line pledge message on Facebook stating, "Soldiers' monthly salary 2 million won."

As of 2022, the monthly salary for a corporal is 676,115 won, and the Moon Jae-in administration announced plans to increase it to 963,000 won by 2025. Candidate Yoon proposed an increase amounting to more than twice the government's plan.

Earlier, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, also announced a pledge in December last year titled "Smart Strong Army, Selective Conscription System," promising to raise the corporal's monthly salary to over 2 million won by 2027. However, the difference lies in that his plan assumes a selective conscription system that reduces the number of conscripted soldiers to 150,000 during his term.

This is the third "one-line pledge" following the two-line messages on December 6th about "Strengthening punishment for sex crimes and false accusation crimes," and the one-line message on December 7th about "Abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family."

Regarding this approach, a spokesperson from the campaign headquarters explained, "The message is delivered first, and Candidate Yoon will explain it directly later." In fact, on the 8th, Candidate Yoon posted an explanatory statement about abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, adding, "'Abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family' is correct. We will promote the establishment of a new department that comprehensively addresses issues related to children, families, and population decline, rather than dividing by gender." It is expected that Candidate Yoon will also provide a direct explanation regarding the pledge on the corporal's salary.

In particular, most of the one-line pledges released by Candidate Yoon focus on targeting the 'Itaedam' demographic. In this regard, Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, emphasized, "If there is something we hope for in this election, it is to receive a higher generational vote share among people in their 20s than the regional vote share in TK (Daegu·Gyeongbuk), which is our party's strongest region."

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