Democrats Propose 'Soldier Leave Guarantee Act'... Also Considering Increase in Reserve Forces Training Allowance

Lee Jae-myung Meets with Discharged Soldiers to Review System
"Even One Hour Is Precious to Youth"

The Democratic Party of Korea is pushing for the 'Soldier Leave Guarantee Act,' which excludes holidays from soldiers' leave days. They also plan to consider increasing reserve forces training allowances.

On the 4th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, held a 'Youth Hope Dialogue: Meeting on the Issue of Leave Inequality for Military Personnel' at the National Assembly, inviting discharged soldiers. At the meeting, Lee said, "We organized this meeting to ensure that no one feels they have lost even an hour or a day or two in their life due to the system, through improvements under the name of the 'Soldier Leave Guarantee Act.' If there are parts we adopt and improve, we will actively push for those improvements."

He pointed out, "For young people in their 20s, 1 year and 6 months, which was 3 years at the time, is a very long and precious time. Many young people give up exams because of military enlistment, and when they return from the military, everything is lost."

He then highlighted problems with the military leave system. Lee said, "There have been concerns about why soldiers have holidays included in their leave days, causing them to lose out, despite making special sacrifices for the country. I truly empathize with this. For young people who are obligated to sacrifice for the country during their youth, not just a day or two but even one hour is precious time."

Previously, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi proposed a bill in 2021 (an amendment to the Act on the Status and Service of Soldiers) to exclude Saturdays and public holidays from soldiers' leave days. While officers have had Saturdays and public holidays excluded from their leave calculations, soldiers' leave days have included these.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at a meeting on April 4th at the National Assembly regarding the Youth Hope Dialogue Series and issues such as complaints about military personnel leave. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Kim Byung-joo, a Democratic Party lawmaker and opposition whip on the National Defense Committee, said, "We have demanded unlimited sacrifice and dedication from military personnel due to their national defense duties, but now we believe the state and citizens should maintain a certain level of treatment. That is why we organized this meeting." He added, "Our party and the National Defense Committee members will strive to provide support through legislation and budget."

They also discussed treatment issues such as increasing reserve forces allowances and interest support for junior officers' housing. After the meeting, lawmaker Jeon told reporters, "We also talked about the need to adjust reserve forces allowances to realistic levels. Since the Moon Jae-in administration, efforts have been made to raise these allowances, but the pay is still very low and insufficient." He continued, "Although interest support is currently provided for junior officers' housing, as I questioned during the government interpellation, the conditions are worse than prison, and there were discussions about the need to resolve such issues."

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