Six in 10 Koreans supported mandatory military enlistment for women, a recent poll showed. Nearly half also backed President Lee Jae Myung’s selective enlistment proposal, though people in their 20s and 30s strongly opposed it. The Reform Institute survey found broad support overall, but younger adults were far more skeptical about whether the plan would ease troop shortages.
Cadets conduct tactical drills during the commissioning evaluation for bachelor's and female officer candidates at the Korea Army Cadet Military School in Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, in May 2012. Korea Times file
Six in 10 Koreans support mandatory military enlistment for women, a recent poll showed. Nearly half also supported President Lee Jae Myung’s proposal for “selective enlistment,” outnumbering opponents of the plan by a small margin. A closer analysis by demographic group, however, showed that both men and women in their 20s and 30s, who would be most directly affected by the system, strongly opposed the idea.
The Reform Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Reform Party, released the results Wednesday of a survey on public perceptions of the military service system.
Some 59.6 percent of respondents supported including women in the military draft to address the decline in eligible recruits, according to the institute. Of those, 23.9 percent said they “strongly support” the proposal, while 35.7 percent said they “generally support” it. Opposition, meanwhile, stood at 34 percent. Both men and women broadly supported the idea, with support reaching 64.8 percent and 54.5 percent, respectively. The survey was conducted Tuesday among 1,006 adults aged 18 and older nationwide.
