Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back speaks during a defense seminar at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul on Tuesday. (Defense Ministry) South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense plans to raise the proportion of officers and noncommissioned officers in the military to 63 percent by 2040, as the country seeks to cope with a shrinking pool of conscripts caused by a steep demographic decline.The plan, unveiled during a defense reform seminar held at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, Tuesday, calls for shifting the military’s manpower structure to have career soldiers outnumber conscripts.Under the proposal, the share of officers and noncommissioned officers among active-duty personnel would rise from the current 40 percent to 63 percent by 2040. The proportion of enlisted conscripts would fall from 60 percent to 37 percent.The ministry said the shift is aimed at improving unit stability, strengthening combat readiness and raising the level of expertise needed for a military increasingly built around advanced technologies.The plan reflects growing concern over South Korea’s declining number of military-age men. According to the ministry, the number of men eligible for military service fell from 332,000 in 2019 to 257,000 in 2022. The figure is projected to decline further from 228,000 in 2035 to 120,000 in 2043.Despite the drop, the ministry aims to maintain total defense personnel, including active-duty, civilian resources and standing reserve forces, at around 500,000 in 2040 by increasing the number of career service members, expanding standing reserve forces and making wider use of civilian personnel.The ministry is also considering changes to the rank structure of both enlisted conscripts and noncommissioned officers.For enlisted conscripts, the current four-rank system is expected to be reduced to three ranks, reflecting the shortened mandatory service period.Currently, most Army conscripts serve 18 months, spending roughly two months as a private, six months as private first class, six months as corporal and four months as sergeant.The ministry is reportedly considering removing the private rank, which largely overlaps with the basic training period.For noncommissioned officers, who serve voluntarily as career service members, the current four-rank system would be expanded to five ranks, in a move intended to encourage long-term service and improve career incentives.The ministry said the reform would be carried out in three stages through 2040, covering personnel, unit structure and weapons systems.As part of the unit restructuring plan, the Army is expected to pursue the integration and reorganization of some corps-level units, while developing division-centered formations capable of carrying out diverse missions.The Navy plans to establish an uncrewed combat aviation unit dedicated to operating combat drones, while the Air Force plans to create an uncrewed reconnaissance squadron operating long-endurance and low-observable reconnaissance drones.For the Marine Corps, the ministry plans to push for the creation of a Marine Operations Command over the 1st and 2nd Marine divisions.The reform also places heavy emphasis on expanding uncrewed systems.The ministry plans to increase drone and uncrewed aircraft capabilities by around 30 times by 2040, including combat collaborative aircraft, uncrewed surface vessels, uncrewed underwater combat vehicles, reconnaissance drones and small and midsized loitering munitions.The ministry said the future joint operational concept would focus on achieving operational objectives “in the shortest possible time with minimum damage” by conducting artificial intelligence-based, integrated and rapid decisive operations across all domains.Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said in his opening remarks that the military must respond to a complex security environment and a changing paradigm of warfare.“It is time for our military to boldly move away from familiar ways of doing things and achieve a qualitative leap based on advanced science and technology,” Ahn said.The ministry said it would finalize its basic defense reform plan by next month before making an official announcement.