"Yoon Seok-yeol Proposes 'Soldier Salary 2 Million Won'... '5.1 Trillion Won Secured Through Budget Expenditure Adjustment' (Comprehensive)"

Government Plan Doubles↑
Lee Jae-myung Also Proposed '2 Million Won' but Assumes Volunteer Military System

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, has expressed his intention to raise the monthly salary of military soldiers to 2 million won. This is interpreted as part of his recent strategy to capture the support of ‘I-dae-nam’ (men in their 20s), a demographic that has been difficult to win over.

On the 9th, Candidate Yoon posted a one-line campaign message on Facebook stating, “Soldiers’ monthly salary 2 million won.”

As of 2022, the monthly salary for a corporal is 676,115 won, and the Moon Jae-in administration had announced plans to increase it to 963,000 won by 2025. Candidate Yoon’s proposal suggests a raise of more than twice the government’s planned amount.

Previously, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, also announced in December last year a pledge titled “Smart Strong Army, Selective Conscription System,” promising to raise the corporal’s monthly salary to over 2 million won by 2027. However, his plan differs in that it assumes a selective conscription system that reduces the number of conscripted soldiers to 150,000 during his term.

Regarding this, the People Power Party’s campaign headquarters stated in a press release, “This pledge reflects Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol’s belief that the state has the responsibility to guarantee soldiers a minimum wage and the responsibility to properly treat young people who dedicate themselves to the country.” They added, “The Yoon Seok-yeol administration plans to adjust the soldiers’ salary system to raise all salaries above the minimum wage, with some minor adjustments.”

The campaign headquarters explained, “The current annual budget for soldiers’ salaries is 2.1 trillion won, but raising all soldiers’ salaries to the minimum wage would increase this by about 5.1 trillion won.” They further stated, “The additional 5.1 trillion won budget to guarantee soldiers’ minimum wage will be secured through budget expenditure adjustments.”

This is the third ‘one-line pledge’ following the posts on the 6th about ‘strengthening punishment for sex crimes and false accusation crimes’ in two lines, and on the 7th about ‘abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’ in one line.

Regarding this approach, a campaign headquarters official explained, “The message is delivered first, and Candidate Yoon will provide a detailed explanation later.” In fact, on the 8th, Candidate Yoon posted a statement regarding the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, clarifying, “It is correct that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will be abolished. We will promote the establishment of a new ministry that comprehensively addresses issues related to children, families, and population decline, rather than dividing by gender.” It is expected that Candidate Yoon will also add explanations regarding the pledge on the corporal’s salary.

In particular, most of the one-line pledges released by Candidate Yoon focus on targeting ‘I-dae-nam.’ In this regard, Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, emphasized, “If there is something we hope for in this election, it is to achieve a higher generational vote share among people in their 20s than the regional vote share in TK (Daegu and Gyeongbuk), which is our party’s strongest region.”