Military Manpower Administration: "Alternative Service and District Council Membership Cannot Be Held Concurrently"

"‘No Concurrent Positions’ Even for Inquiries Before and After Work Start"

The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) has reiterated its position that alternative service personnel cannot concurrently hold a position as a district council member, in relation to the controversy surrounding Kim Min-seok, a council member of Gangseo-gu.

Woo Tak-gyun, deputy spokesperson of the MMA, responded to related questions at a regular briefing on the 28th, stating, "While serving as a social service agent, one is prohibited from joining political parties or engaging in political activities," and added, "Regarding this matter, the MMA has notified the relevant service institution that concurrent positions are not allowed."

Kim Min-seok, Gangseo District Council Member

The "matter" refers to Kim Min-seok, a Gangseo-gu council member, who began alternative service at the Yangcheon-gu Facilities Management Corporation on the 24th. The "relevant service institution" is the Yangcheon-gu Facilities Management Corporation.

Deputy spokesperson Woo explained, "According to the MMA's understanding, the institution where he is serving (Yangcheon-gu Facilities Management Corporation) informed him (Councilman Kim Min-seok) that concurrent positions are not permitted," and added, "On the 24th (Friday), there was an official inquiry about whether concurrent positions were possible, and on that Friday, we informed them by phone that it was not allowed, and on the 27th, we formally responded in writing."

Regarding whether it constitutes a violation of service regulations for Councilman Kim to perform alternative service normally while engaging in political activities after work, Deputy spokesperson Woo answered, "That is considered a violation." Therefore, the MMA's judgment is that Councilman Kim is currently in violation of service regulations. While career public officials can take a leave of absence from their affiliated institutions to perform military service, Councilman Kim, as an elected official, has no legal basis for taking a leave of absence.

If service regulations are violated, the service institution issues a "warning" to the service member, and if four warnings accumulate, the individual becomes subject to prosecution for violating the Military Service Act. It is reported that the Yangcheon-gu Facilities Management Corporation has not issued any warning to Councilman Kim to date.

Earlier, the MMA stated in an explanatory document posted on its website that "the person in charge of service management at the Yangcheon-gu Facilities Management Corporation informed Councilman Kim Min-seok on his first day of work, the 24th, that he could not hold concurrent positions as a district council member."

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