Yoon Seok-yeol on the 'Baekgol Unit': "Military Salary Increase, ROTC Service Period Reduced by 4 Months"

Visited Cheorwon to Encourage Soldiers on Guard Duty
Focusing on Improving Soldier Welfare and Honoring Meritorious Personnel

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is arriving at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 17th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] On the 20th, ahead of Christmas, Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, visited a military unit in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, to encourage soldiers and presented pledges to improve military treatment, strengthening the 'military spirit.'

On that day, Candidate Yoon visited an OP (Observation Post) under the jurisdiction of the Army 3rd Division 'Baekgol Unit' in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon Province, to encourage soldiers on guard duty. In the afternoon, he had lunch with military families and planned to visit a public postpartum care center to hear the opinions of residents in the frontline areas.

Candidate Yoon also proposed alternatives to improve the treatment of soldiers through social media (SNS) on the same day. He stated that he would reform the payment system for various military allowances such as hazard duty allowance, special duty allowance, and overtime allowance to improve the treatment of professional soldiers and the service conditions of junior officers and non-commissioned officers. Regarding military housing support policies, he announced plans to completely overhaul them focusing on military apartments and single-person household accommodations.

He also pledged to raise soldiers' salaries, saying, "We will create a culture of social respect for fulfilling military service obligations." He promised to extend the period of National Pension enrollment for active-duty soldiers to cover the entire military service period and to ensure they subscribe to safety insurance during their military life. Additionally, he claimed he would reduce the service period for ROTC officers from the current 28 months to 24 months.

He also announced plans to nearly double the allowances for national veterans who participated in the Korean War and the Vietnam War and to improve the disability grade criteria for veterans. Candidate Yoon said, "What could be more noble than dedicating oneself to protecting the community?" and added, "I will strive to make military service literally an honorable duty."