Starting Next Year, Female Military Reservists Will Also Participate in Mobilization Training

Military Manpower Administration: "Those Who Choose Retirement Are Excluded"

Starting next year, all female military reservists will be subject to mobilization training.

On the 2nd, the female honor guard unit demonstrated a drill at the War Memorial in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the Military Manpower Administration on the 26th, female military reservists have so far been designated for mobilization only if they wished to be, but from 2025, all will be designated for mobilization regardless of their preference. However, female soldiers can choose to become reservists or retirees upon discharge, and those who choose retirement are excluded.

Additionally, female military reservists working in specific professions such as police or firefighting, those who are pregnant or have given birth, those undergoing infertility treatment, and those with children under the age of six are also exempt.

The Military Manpower Administration expects that, considering these exceptions, the number of female military reservists designated for mobilization within 1 to 6 years of service will be in the hundreds. Among approximately 3,700 female soldiers discharged from 2020 to August of this year, about 19% chose to become reservists.

The Military Manpower Administration explained that this measure is "to enhance the utilization of excellent female military personnel and to contribute to the elite status of reserve forces in emergencies."