[2024 National Audit] Army Officers' Housing Severely Insufficient

Analysis of National Defense Committee Member Yoon Yong-won's Audit Data
Over 2,800 Army Officers Not Assigned Military Housing

The issue of military officers' housing has been revealed to be serious. It has been confirmed that officers who do not receive military housing assignments stay in temporary accommodations, and civilian military employees choose to take leave.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to data submitted by the Ministry of National Defense to Yoo Yong-won, a member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, as of September this year, about 2,800 Army officers have not been assigned military housing. Considering that officers of major rank and above will be transferred starting in October, the number is expected to increase by the end of the year.

Officers who cannot move into military housing mostly stay in temporary accommodations such as single-person dormitories or unit assembly halls. Their families have no choice but to live separately, remaining in the military housing of their previous units. The region with the most severe housing shortage is Gangwon-do. In the case of the Desiang Apartments (321 units) military housing located in Hwacheon-gun, managed by the Army's 2nd Corps, there is an average monthly waiting list of 135 applicants.

The situation is similar for civilian military employees. Recently, a large number of junior civilian military employees have been leaving. Because they are not assigned military housing and live in private residences, their housing costs have become excessively high. Only about 18.7% of Army civilian military employees reside in military housing facilities. The number of dismissals among Army civilian military employees at grade 7 and below has nearly quadrupled, from 113 in 2019 to 442 in 2023. Among the total 3,514 newly appointed civilian military employees assigned to frontline Army units over the past three years (2021?2023), 648 have taken leave and 896 have been dismissed, accounting for 44%.

Moving expenses are also grossly insufficient. According to the "Military Transportation Fare Directive," moving expenses should be paid based on the distance moved, but the reality falls short. For example, moving about 260 km from Sindoan-myeon, Gyeryong-si, Chungnam to Dongsong-eup, Cheorwon, including ladder truck costs, averages 3.3 million KRW in moving expenses, but the amount paid to military officers is 2.22 million KRW. The remaining 1.08 million KRW is borne personally.

Representative Yoo said, "Moving expenses are only paid to military officers with more than five years of service, and ladder truck costs must be borne by the officers themselves. These points differ significantly from the regulations for government officials, who receive full moving expenses, so urgent reform of the system is needed."