Defense Ministry cites risk of higher dropout rates over marriage and pregnancy

The main gate of the Air Force Academy in Cheongju. [Yonhap]
The main gate of the Air Force Academy in Cheongju. [Yonhap]

Military authorities will allow cadets at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies to smoke in designated areas, acting on a recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

According to documents the Ministry of National Defense submitted Monday to the office of Rep. Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, the Defense Ministry decided to accept the commission's recommendation to permit "limited smoking in designated areas."

Smoking had previously been banned for cadets both on and off base. The military accepted the commission's recommendation, which was made in the interest of improving cadets' living conditions.

Cadets had long been subject to a three-prohibition system banning marriage, alcohol and smoking. Following criticism that the restrictions were excessively harsh, the alcohol ban was the first to be eased.

The alcohol restriction was relaxed in 2016 to allow drinking off campus as long as it did not damage a cadet's dignity. The smoking restriction has now been partially lifted a decade later.

The Defense Ministry also agreed to accept three other recommendations from the commission: allowing cadets to wear civilian clothes in principle when leaving the base, permitting free use of dormitory facilities during free periods between classes, and improving access to medical care by simplifying the treatment authorization process.

However, the ministry declined to accept the commission's recommendation to ease or abolish restrictions on marriage and pregnancy — the remaining prohibition in the three-ban system.

"Leaves of absence and returns to school due to pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing would disrupt cadet life and training, and the difficulty of balancing cadet duties with family life could increase the dropout rate, limiting the academies' ability to fulfill their educational mission," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, a research report by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) on the integration of the military academies showed a sharp divide in opinion between the general public and cadets and officers over the Lee Jae Myung administration's push to merge the Army, Navy and Air Force academies. A public survey conducted in January and February this year found that 49.1 percent of respondents supported the integration. By contrast, a separate survey of 1,791 cadets from the three academies conducted in March this year found that 91.3 percent opposed it, while 60.9 percent of officers surveyed said they were against the plan.


hope@heraldcorp.com