Jongseop Lee on the 'Revival of Police Military Service': "Not an Issue to Agree with Easily"

"Never Specifically Discussed... Needs Careful Review"
Prime Minister's Office Announces 'Revival of Auxiliary Police' in Response to Lee Sang-dong Incident Crime

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop expressed his stance on the Prime Minister's Office's review of reintroducing the Mandatory Police (Uigyeong), stating that he "cannot easily agree" to it.

On the 25th, during the National Assembly National Defense Committee plenary session, in response to a question from Ahn Gyu-baek of the Democratic Party of Korea asking, "Have you consulted on this issue (the revival of Uigyeong)?", Minister Lee said, "There has been no specific consultation," and added, "There are various issues, so I do not think it is something to agree to easily." He repeatedly emphasized in response to other related questions from Democratic Party lawmakers that "there has been no specific discussion" and that "it should be carefully reviewed."

Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 23rd, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced a statement titled "Measures to Prevent Recurrence of Abnormal Motivation Crimes," in which he stated, "We will actively consider reintroducing the Mandatory Police system to significantly strengthen crime prevention capabilities." Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun, who was present, added, "We will discuss with the Ministry of National Defense and others about a plan to sequentially recruit and operate about 7,500 to 8,000 personnel."

Concerns have been raised regarding the 'revival of Uigyeong,' as the declining birth rate and other factors are causing a continuous decrease in military service resources, which could exacerbate the shortage of active-duty soldiers. The Ministry of National Defense announced in December last year, through the '2023?2027 Defense Mid-term Plan,' that it would maintain the standing military personnel at 500,000 by 2027; however, according to the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), the actual military personnel at the end of last year was only 480,000.

In fact, Minister Lee also stated at the plenary session that "the authorized strength is 500,000, but the current number is insufficient." To maintain the 'standing military personnel of 500,000,' 220,000 personnel must be recruited annually, but from 2036, the population of 20-year-old males will fall below 220,000. Especially, in 2042, when boys born last year turn 20, the number will sharply drop to 120,000.

Meanwhile, as concerns about the shortage of military service resources grow, the Prime Minister's Office showed a step back the day before, stating, "We will first proceed with adjusting police personnel deployment to strengthen public security activities and consider the revival of the Mandatory Police system if necessary."

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