Conscription in South Korea has existed since 1957 and requires male citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 to perform compulsory military service. Women are not required to perform military service, but they may voluntarily join the military.
Establishment The basis for military conscription in South Korea is the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which was put into effect on 17 July 1948. The constitution states in Article 39, "All citizens shall have the duty of national defense under the conditions as prescribed by [the] Act."
In addition, the conscription is defined and acted by the "Military Service Act" (). According to the "Military Service Act" Article 3, "Every male citizen of the Republic of Korea shall faithfully perform mandatory military service, as prescribed by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and this Act. A female may perform only active service or reserve service through volunteering," and "Except as provided in this Act, no special case concerning mandatory military service shall be prescribed". The Constitutional Court of Korea confirmed that only males are drafted, declaring in 2006 that it is the government's right to decide who is subject to conscription and that there is no constitutional error in the government's decisions. Conscription is managed by the Military Manpower Administration, which was created in 1948.
Enlistment and impairment-disability evaluation By law, when a South Korean man turns 18 years old, he is enlisted for "preliminary military service"(previously "first citizen service"), meaning he is liable for military duty, but is not yet required to serve. When he turns 19 years old (or, in some instances, 20 years old), he is required to undergo an Impairment & Disability evaluation to determine whether he is suitable for military service. Men must enlist by the time they turn 28.
There are seven possible grades for the evaluation with corresponding outcomes, according to the Military Service Act. Men who receive a grade of 1, 2, or 3 are subject to enlistment into active duty service, but may be placed in supplemental service or second citizen service due to other factors (such as educational background and age). Men who receive a grade of 4 or 5 are not subject to active military service, but may be placed in second citizen or supplemental service. Grade 6 is the only level fully exempt from military service, with Grade 7 requiring a follow-up within two years for requalification. Grades 4, 5, and 6 correspond to increasing levels of disability, with 4 being considered "minor" and 6 constituting significant impairment.
Service types and length Grade 1, 2, 3 and 4: those are suitable for military service (현역/Hyeon-yeok) The length of compulsory military service in South Korea varies based on military branch. Active duty soldiers serve 1 year 6 months in the Army or Marine Corps, 1 year 8 months in the Navy, or 1 year 9 months in the Air Force. After conscripts finish their military service, they are automatically placed on the reserve roster and are obligated to attend annual military training for 8 years (5 years from 2021).
Non-active duty personnel, or "supplemental service" personnel serve for various lengths: 1 year 9 months for social work personnel (better known as public service workers - personnel ordered to do public service work at places that require auxiliary workers such as local community centers like city halls, government agencies, and public facilities like subway stations); 2 years 10 months for arts and sports personnel or industrial technical personnel; and 3 years for public health doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, or expert researchers.
In 2010, there was growing public pressure to either shorten the length of conscription or to switch to voluntary military service, and calls from experts for a gradual phasing out of conscription rather than complete abolition. However, in December 2010, after taking into consideration of the 2010 ROKS Cheonan sinking and Bombardment of Yeonpyeong incidents, the South Korean government said it would not reduce service periods.
Grade 4: those are unsuitable for military service Art and sports personnel Artists and players who have won government accredited competitions are allowed to work as 'Art and Sports Personnel'. After a month of military training, Art and Sports Service agents work through their specialties to finish their military services; e.g. in professional sports teams, art galleries, museums or orchestra bands. Unlike other service agents who are working at factories, farms, universities, institutes or nursing homes, Art and Sports Service agents are allowed to work abroad.
Former president Park Chung Hee introduced exemptions for athletes in 1973 to win more medals for the country; some historians believe this also served as a distraction against the government's unpopularity. After winning a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics, wrestler Yang Jung-mo was granted the first exemption. In the 1980s, president Chun Doo-hwan promised exemptions to any athlete who won a medal of any kind at either the 1986 Asian Games or the 1988 Summer Olympics.
When South Korea co-hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2002, their national football team was guaranteed an exemption if they reached the round of 16; the same promise was made to the national baseball team in 2006 if they reached the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic. Public outrage ensued, and similar exemptions have been rarely granted since.
Current conscription regulations stipulate that athletes who win medals in the Olympic Games or gold medals in the Asian Games are granted exemptions from military service and are placed in Grade 4. They are required to do four weeks of basic military training and engage in sports field for 42 months. After that, they are automatically placed on the reserve roster, and are obligated to attend a few days of annual military training for six years. In practice, after athletes finish their four weeks of basic military training, they are able to continue their own sports career during the 34 months of duty.
The policy has resulted in coaches being accused of selecting players desperate to avoid military service instead of choosing the best athletes. Parents encourage their children to pursue sports in hopes of them receiving an exemption.
Notable athletes who have been granted exemptions from military service are the bronze medal-winning men's football team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2008 Olympic gold medalist badminton player Lee Yong-dae, swimmer Park Tae-hwan, 2014 Asian Games gold medalist tennis player Chung Hyeon, 2018 Asian Games gold medalist footballer Son Heung-min, and 2026 Asian Games gold medalist golfer Tom Kim.
Esports players were not exempt from conscription until 2023, when esports became a regular event at the 2022 Asian Games. Because esports had become a medal event in these games, it became possible for players to be exempt from conscription, so long as they won a gold medal in the games. The gold medal-winning roster of the country's national esports team became the first players to be granted the exemption.
A total of 220 exemptions were granted from 2008 to 2018.
Exemptions are also granted to classical musicians and ballet performers who win first place in stipulated international-level competitions. A two-year extension for notable K-pop artists (from a law that was passed in December 2020) could also be given by government for their career, the age for joining military is 30 (which previously was 28). Some resources and media outlets claim that the primary reason for this amendment was singer-songwriter Jin, who, at the time, was about to turn 28. As his group BTS has had a huge impact (especially in the music industry) worldwide and contributed greatly to the spread of Korean culture and the Hallyu Wave, exemptions for them were in talks for a few years. Despite this, BTS' record label, Big Hit Music, announced on 17 October 2022, that Jin withdrew his enlistment deferral request and will be the first in the group to enter into mandatory military service, with other members of BTS to be enlisted on a later date.
Conscientious objection The right to conscientious objection was not recognized in South Korea until 2020. Over 400 men were typically imprisoned at any given time for refusing military service for political or religious reasons in the years before right to conscientious objection was established.
On 28 June 2018, the South Korean Constitutional Court ruled the Military Service Act unconstitutional and ordered the government to accommodate civilian forms of military service for conscientious objectors. Later that year on 1 November 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court legalized conscientious objection as a basis for rejecting compulsory military service.
Equipment The Ministry of National Defense has revealed that it failed to provide sneakers to 7,411 recruits who joined the military from 22 May to 4 June 2012, after the budget was insufficient for need. The Defense ministry originally projected the cost of each pair of sneakers to be 11,000 KRW. However, the actual cost turned out to be 15,000 KRW.
The office of National Assembly member Kim Kwang-jin of Democratic United Party revealed that cadets in Korea Military Academy were provided with sneakers worth 60,000 KRW and tennis shoes. Cadets in Korea Army Academy at Yeongcheon were provided with sneakers worth 64,250 KRW, in addition to running shoes and soccer shoes.
Dual citizens For dual citizens, or those with multiple citizenships other than voluntary naturalization, male South Koreans must choose their citizenship by the time they turn 18, before 31 March of that year. If these males choose to revoke their South Korean citizenship, they will not be required to complete their mandatory military service. However, if they fail to choose their citizenship by their 18th year, they will be obliged to fulfill their mandatory military service and, for those who wish to maintain multiple citizenships, to give an oath not to exercise foreign nationality within two years after finishing military service. Males who choose to renounce their citizenship by their 18th year are ineligible to gain a South Korean permanent residence visa (F series) until after they turn 40 years of age, though they may still be able to receive an E series visa.
There have been cases of Koreans abroad (e.g. Korean Americans) being forced to serve in the military, as they were unaware they were actually citizens of South Korea. This happens when these people visit South Korea. One cause of this is the inadvertent inclusion on the family register.
Travel outside Korea
Before 1962, men who had not completed their conscription were almost entirely barred from leaving the country (except for international sporting events or conferences), and even those who had completed their service were required to obtain the approval of the Minister of National Defense before leaving South Korea, until they reached the age of 40. In 1962, the Military Service Act was revised to permit travel outside Korea, but it required government approval ("국외여행허가", permission for overseas travel), as well as a guarantor until 2005. Until 2007, such permission was required from the age of 18 until the man completed his military service; in 2007, the requirement was relaxed to apply only from the age of 25 to those who had not completed their service.
Permission is generally granted to members of the diaspora — those who have lived outside Korea since birth, or who left Korea before the age of six — provided that they do not stay in South Korea for more than three years, up to the maximum enlistment age of 40.