85% of female soldiers in South Korea worry about being discharged due to the difficulty of balancing military life with childcare

It has been revealed that about nine out of ten female soldiers in South Korea are suffering from discharge due to the difficulty of balancing military life with child rearing.
The '2024 Military Gender Equality Index Survey and Analysis' submitted by the Ministry of National Defense and released by Yoo Young-Won, a member of the People's Power Rep., on the 15th, is a critical step in improving the military's gender equality environment.
According to the study, the military's gender equality index total score was calculated at an average of 63.63 points across five survey areas. Among the detailed items, the gender equality work environment category recorded the highest score at 77.77 points.
However, the 'work-life balance environment' category recorded the lowest score at just 48.98 points.
This means that the environment for balancing military life and family life remains poor.
There were three indicators in the 'Work-family balance environment' category, all of which received less than 30 points. The most inadequate indicators were the gender gap in the use of work-family balance systems, and the rate of childcare leave use.
The gender gap in the rate of use of flexible working hours, which allows workers to adjust their arrival and departure times for childcare, was 20.85 points, while the gender gap in the rate of use was just 22.39 points.
45.7% of female soldiers and female service members use the childcare leave system, while only 9.5% of male soldiers and male service members use the system.
This is because only 31% of women and 6.9% of men in the military use the childcare leave system, and in the case of flexible working hours, only 31% of women and 6.9% of men use the system.
The survey revealed that around 20% of female officers and 15% of male officers have experienced physical and mental difficulties in balancing their military and home life, indicating that women in the military have a harder time balancing their work and home life than men.
In addition, the difficulty of balancing military life with housework, child rearing and nursing care was reported by 26.3% of female officers and 24.3% of male officers, regardless of gender.
It turns out that one in four have experienced this. In particular, when asked, "Have you ever considered being discharged due to the difficulty of balancing military life and raising children?" 85% of active-duty female soldiers answered "yes."
Given that female soldiers are even considering abandoning their military careers due to child-rearing issues, it is clear that measures need to be taken urgently.
The score for the care satisfaction index for preschool and elementary school children was 29.62 points, which is the same as the military gender equality index.
This was significantly lower than the overall score of 63.63 points. Rep. Yoo said, "In a recent survey of company employees in their 20s to 40s, more than half of all generations chose "work" as the highest value they pursue in the workplace.
The pursuit of a balance between work and family life is now a general trend in society.
"The era in which the military was seen as an attractive workplace that guaranteed the ability to balance work and family life, and where the treatment of military officers was improved and morale was raised, and where military life was stable, has already ended," he added.
"Military authorities should actively encourage childcare leave and flexible work systems so that military personnel can continue their work. We need to make more detailed efforts to support the care of preschool and elementary school-aged children," he said.
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