The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Recommends Improvements to the Reserve Forces System, Including 'Expansion of Holiday Training and Meal Service Enhancements'

Ministry of National Defense: "We Will Strive to Accommodate Everyone"

The reserve forces training system is expected to be improved overall, including the expansion of holiday reserve forces training and the reflection of reserve forces' opinions in the selection of lunchbox suppliers.

Jeong Seung-yoon, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, is speaking at a briefing on "Measures to Alleviate Inconveniences in Reserve Forces Training Participation and Improve Meal Quality" held at the Government Seoul Office Building at 10:30 AM on the 27th. [Image provided by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission]

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) is promoting system improvements to resolve inconveniences related to reserve forces mobilization training in collaboration with the Ministry of National Defense and the Military Manpower Administration, based on big data of complaints received through the National Petition System.

On the 27th at 10:30 a.m., the ACRC held a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul and announced that complaints about reserve forces training received through the National Petition System over the past three years have reached nearly 20,284 cases. The number significantly increased after training resumed last year following a suspension during 2020-2021 due to the spread of COVID-19.

By complaint type, dissatisfaction with the management system, such as the method of training mobilization notification, accounted for the largest share at 29.2%, followed by complaints about distant training locations at 26.3%. Other complaints included dissatisfaction with the quality of training meals at 25.4%, delays in processing admission at 8.8%, requests for training changes from single-father families at 7.4%, and requests for expanding holiday reserve forces training at 3.0%.

First, measures to improve the training mobilization notification method will be pursued. Until now, training notices have included detailed information such as enlistment date and time, assigned unit, training period, and training location, which has been criticized as complicated. The ACRC recommended simplifying the notice to make it easier to understand from the user's perspective by focusing on the training period and location.

Discussion is also underway to expand the options for selecting reserve forces training locations. Reservists have experienced inconvenience having to choose distant training sites due to their registered address, even though there are training centers closer to their actual residence. The ACRC recommended providing advance notice of the nationwide annual training schedule and expanding the application range from the current 10% to 15-20% or more in the mid to long term.

To provide training opportunities for self-employed individuals and others who cannot attend weekday training, the ACRC also recommended expanding holiday reserve forces training, which was previously operated at the discretion of unit commanders, to at least 1 to 3 days. Self-employed individuals have continuously raised complaints requesting the expansion of holiday (Sunday) reserve forces training due to difficulties participating in weekday training because of livelihood maintenance.

There were also concerns about child neglect from single-father families raising young children alone due to the long (2 nights, 3 days) reserve forces mobilization training. Current laws stipulate that only low-income single-father families can defer training, and the postponement of training for single-father families raising children is limited to twice in total over four years. Accordingly, the ACRC recommended abolishing the limit on the number of training postponements so that single-father families can care for their children during the 2-night, 3-day mobilization training period.

Measures to improve the quality of meals provided during reserve forces training are also being promoted. While mobilization training provides the same unit meals as active-duty soldiers, regional reservists are provided with lunchbox meals by default. The ACRC elevated meal-related regulations to at least the level of Ministry of National Defense directives and required the establishment and disclosure of unified detailed standards for meal support to ensure quality. Furthermore, the opinions of reservists participating in training will be prioritized when selecting lunchbox suppliers.

Finally, measures to resolve inconveniences related to training admission are also being discussed. There have been complaints that even when arrival at the training site was delayed due to traffic congestion, individuals were sent back home without exception. The ACRC changed the training mobilization notice format to make training information easier to understand from the user's perspective and allowed exceptions for admission not only in cases of natural disasters and traffic accidents but also for traffic congestion caused by road conditions.

Regarding these recommendations, Yeom Ju-seong, Director of Mobilization Planning at the Ministry of National Defense, said at the briefing held at the Government Complex Seoul that "there was a consultation process before the recommendations were made. Although these are recommendations, we will actively strive to accept all of them." However, he added, "Tasks that are difficult to accept immediately, such as expanding training sites nationwide, will be accepted as mid- to long-term projects."

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