After All the Effort, They Go Astray... Cyber Officer Commissioning Rate Only 17%

Assemblywoman Song Okju Points Out Issues with Cyber Specialist Officers
Graduation Commission Rate of Cyber Defense Department This Year Only 17%

Amid increasing threats of cyber attacks from North Korea, including hacking, the number of personnel leaving the military without commissioning as 'cyber specialist officers' has reached an all-time high. Among the graduates of the Cyber Defense Department established under the cyber specialist officer system, only 17% commissioned, while the rest found employment in IT companies and other sectors.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of National Defense to Song Ok-ju, a member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the military has been operating the cyber specialist officer system with Korea University since 2012. Starting with an agreement between the Army and Korea University in June 2011, the first freshmen of the Cyber Defense Department entered Korea University in March 2012, and the first class of cyber specialist officers commissioned in June 2016.

North Korean Cyber Attacks

Students admitted to the Cyber Defense Department receive a full four-year scholarship funded by the government, in exchange for commissioning as cyber specialist officers (second lieutenants) upon graduation and serving a mandatory seven-year term. As of last year, tuition was 4.88 million KRW per semester.

In the first year, 2016, 27 out of 28 graduates commissioned as officers, resulting in a commissioning rate of 96%. However, the commissioning rate has steadily declined, and among the 23 graduates of the 8th class this year, only 4 (17%) commissioned. The remaining graduates returned the four-year scholarship and found employment in the IT industry. By year, the numbers are as follows: 2016 graduates 28 (27 commissioned), 2017 28 (26), 2018 30 (27), 2019 29 (24), 2020 29 (20), 2021 27 (17), 2022 25 (13), and 2023 23 (4), showing a consistent downward trend in commissioning rates.

This not only undermines the original purpose of the department to secure cyber warfare talent but also raises concerns about setbacks in building the military's cyber capabilities. Although the government recovers funds through tuition repayment, considering the opportunity cost of these resources and the gap caused by failing to cultivate cyber talent, the losses cannot be measured simply in numbers. In particular, the rate of long-term service applications after completing the mandatory seven-year service is also extremely low. The long-term service rate among the first class commissioned in 2016 was only 11%.

Song Ok-ju, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

The Ministry of National Defense explained to Song's office that the causes of the cyber specialist officer attrition include "excessive service periods and unfair treatment compared to the private security market," as well as "dissatisfaction with low-level tasks that do not match the knowledge of commissioned officers."

Song stated, "In a situation where our military's cyber warfare personnel are at a disadvantage compared to North Korea, the cyber specialist officer system for training professionals is becoming ineffective," and emphasized, "The Ministry of National Defense must prepare drastic measures to cultivate and secure cyber specialists."

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