Kim Moonsoo Pledges to Raise Female Professional Soldiers to 30% and Reinstate Gender-Neutral Military Service Bonus

Expansion of Female-Appropriate Positions in Advanced Equipment Operation and More

Kim Moonsoo, a former Minister of Employment and Labor and a preliminary presidential candidate for the People Power Party, pledged on April 23 to increase the proportion of female professional soldiers to 30% and to reinstate the military service bonus system.

On this day, Kim's camp stated, "We will expand the number of female professional soldiers in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based unmanned and manned complex advanced equipment operation, military prosecution, psychological operations, and administration," adding, "Based on the standards of other advanced countries, we plan to initially increase the proportion of female soldiers to 30%."

People Power Party presidential primary candidate Kim Moonsoo is holding a press conference to announce pledges related to youth real estate issues at the Daehwa Building campaign office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 22nd. Photo by Yonhap News

Currently, the proportion of female soldiers in South Korea is about 11% (approximately 19,200 people). The plan is to raise this to around 30%, in line with advanced countries such as those in Northern Europe and Israel.

Kim emphasized, "We will enhance the professionalism and diversity of the military by expanding the participation of outstanding female talent in national defense," and added, "The current system has the side effect that fulfilling military service often means a career interruption, but now we must make military service the starting point of a career instead."

Kim also promised to reinstate the military service bonus system regardless of gender.

He explained, "We plan to grant military service bonus points to all who fulfill their military duty, regardless of gender, so that those who have served the country receive fair compensation," and added, "Through this, we aim not only to enhance the pride of military service but also to support the stable social integration of those who have completed their service."

Park Sooyoung, a People Power Party lawmaker and the head of policy for Kim Moonsoo's campaign, said in a briefing, "We will ensure that the military service bonus is applied in the recruitment of public officials, public institutions, and companies," and added, "While we cannot require companies to adopt this, if the government and public institutions take the lead, we believe companies will gradually follow."

He further explained, "In the past, the issue was that the military service bonus was granted only to men, but if the proportion of female professional soldiers increases to 30%, much of the controversy over gender discrimination will be alleviated."

Regarding concerns about increased budget for infrastructure to accommodate more female professional soldiers, Park stated, "The military is currently focused on maintaining its size, so expanding the number of female soldiers is about maintaining the current workforce," and clarified, "No additional budget will be required."