Female officer applicants up 82% in 3 years; Korea Military Academy women's competition ratio hits 76 to 1

Reform Party lawmaker Cheon Ha-ram calls on Defense Ministry to expand service opportunities for women

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The number of women applying to become military officers in South Korea has surged, with applicants jumping more than 80 percent over three years and surpassing 20,000 last year.

According to data on female military officer recruitment over the past five years — submitted to Reform Party lawmaker Cheon Ha-ram by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Armed Forces Nursing Academy — female officer applicants rose 82 percent, from 11,057 in 2022 to 20,075 last year.

By branch, Army applicants more than doubled from 5,230 to 12,820, while Navy applicants climbed from 1,370 to 1,770, Air Force applicants from 1,967 to 2,468, and Armed Forces Nursing Academy applicants from 2,100 to 2,900.

The Army saw particularly sharp growth in 2025, with female ROTC applicants reaching 5,800 — 2.5 times the previous year's figure — and officer candidate school applicants hitting 3,280, nearly 5.8 times the prior year.

Female applicants to the four military academies — the Korea Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Armed Forces Nursing Academy — grew 44 percent, from 6,830 in 2022 to 9,817 in 2025, approaching the 10,000 mark.

Competition ratios also climbed. In 2025, the Korea Military Academy's female cadet ratio stood at 76.7 to 1, up 17.7 points from 59.0 to 1 in 2021, while the Naval Academy's ratio rose 14.6 points to 60 to 1. The Air Force Academy reached 53.3 to 1 and the Armed Forces Nursing Academy 39 to 1, gains of 18.6 and 13.0 points, respectively.

The Air Force Academy and Armed Forces Nursing Academy ratios soared further in this year's recruitment cycle, reaching 61.4 to 1 and 44.0 to 1, respectively.

"More than 20,000 women a year are knocking on the military's door hoping to become officers, and competition ratios at the military academies are reaching dozens to one — showing just how many women want to serve," Cheon said. "The Defense Ministry should not ignore this demand and must explore, from multiple angles, the various opportunities and pathways that would allow women to serve in the military."


sun@heraldcorp.com