Male soldiers also freely take parental leave... "No promotion disadvantages"

Under Current Regulations, 'Parental Leave' Disadvantages Male Soldiers Over Female Soldiers
The Military Is Changing... From 2020, Male Leave Surpasses Female
Ministry of National Defense "Reviewing Improvement Plan"... Likely to Revise Entire Military System

The Ministry of National Defense announced that it is revising related systems to ensure that male soldiers do not face disadvantages in promotion when taking parental leave.

Jeon Ha-gyu, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, stated at a regular briefing held on the 4th at the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, "There was a difference in current regulations between male and female soldiers when they could not complete the essential positions required for promotion due to parental leave," adding, "We are reviewing improvement plans."

Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-gyu briefing [Photo by Yonhap News]

According to military authorities, under the personnel management regulations of each branch, female soldiers only need to fulfill half of the required assignment period for each specialty when taking parental leave. In contrast, male soldiers must make up the full assignment period if they take parental leave.

The Army revised its related regulations earlier this year to include the time male soldiers use parental leave in the minimum service period required for promotion. However, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force have not yet made separate amendments. The Ministry of National Defense is considering implementing the improvement plan uniformly across all branches after finalizing it.

Looking at the recent status of parental leave in the military, until 2018, there were 935 male soldiers and 1,236 female soldiers taking parental leave, with a significantly higher proportion of women. However, as social attitudes changed, the use of parental leave by men began to increase, and since 2020, the numbers reversed with 1,649 male soldiers and 1,045 female soldiers. In 2021, the number of male soldiers taking parental leave reached 2,448, while female soldiers were 1,465, nearly doubling the proportion of men.

Meanwhile, the personnel management regulations currently being revised by the Ministry of National Defense apply to professional soldiers such as officers and non-commissioned officers. Under current law, active-duty soldiers who have children during their military service are automatically transferred to full-time reservist status, which allows commuting from home regardless of the number of children.

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