"Sergeant Salary Tops 2 Million Won, So Why Should I?"... 32% of KMA Cadets Give Up Commissioning

223 Cadets of the 81st Class Commissioned This Year, Only 68% of Quota Filled
Poor Working Conditions and Low Compensation Cited as Main Reasons

It has been revealed that one-third of cadets at the Korea Military Academy (KMA) have given up commissioning as officers. This is the largest number in recent years.

On October 9, Assemblyman Kang Dae-sik of the National Defense Committee in the National Assembly reported this information, citing data submitted by the Army.

One-third of cadets at the Korea Military Academy (KMA) have given up commissioning as officers. The most common reason for withdrawal was career change (65 cadets, 80.2%). Asia Economy DB.

According to the data, only 223 cadets from the 81st class of the KMA were commissioned this year, accounting for just 67.6% of the recruitment quota of 330. The number of cadets who declined to register after passing the entrance exam was 26, while 81 cadets withdrew after admission.

The most common reason for withdrawal was a career change (65 cadets, 80.2%), followed by difficulty adapting (11 cadets, 13.6%). This is the first time in the past five years that the number of mid-course withdrawals has reached 81. Other reasons included rule violations (3 cadets) and health issues (1 cadet).

The commissioning rate at the KMA has been on a downward trend every year. In 2021, 21 cadets from the 77th class gave up commissioning, but this number increased to 31 for the 79th class in 2023, 40 for the 80th class last year, and surged to 81 this year. This year's commissioning rate dropped by more than 16 percentage points compared to last year's rate of 83.9%.

The Korea Army Cadet Military Academy also saw a decline, with about 470 out of 550 cadets (85.5%) commissioned last year, but only 360 cadets (65.5%) commissioned this year. The commissioning rates for the Air Force and Naval Academies also remained in the 70% range, at 79.1% and 73.5% respectively. The commissioning rate for the Air Force ROTC plummeted from 71.1% in 2021 to 56.2% in 2025.

The main reasons cited are poor working conditions and low compensation. In particular, the Army is analyzed to be more affected than the Navy or Air Force due to more frequent assignments to remote or mountainous areas, as well as a decline in the perceived value of compensation following increases in enlisted soldiers' pay.

Currently, the base salary for a sergeant is 1.5 million won, and if 550,000 won is deposited into the 'Tomorrow Preparation Savings,' the government matches the same amount, resulting in a net receipt of about 2.05 million won. This is not significantly different from the starting salary of a second lieutenant (2.017 million won) or a staff sergeant (2 million won).

Assemblyman Kang pointed out, "While the number of KMA cadets commissioned had remained around 260 to 280 in recent years, this year it has plummeted to the 220s," adding, "It is urgent to restore the morale of junior officers, who are the backbone of our combat power."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense forecasts that, due to low birth rates and the resulting demographic cliff, the number of troops in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces will decrease to around 270,000 by about 2040.