Should women serve? Korea's female conscription debate is back as troop pool shrinks

South Korean lawmakers revived debate over female conscription during a National Assembly defense committee audit on Oct. 12 as the draft-eligible male population shrinks. The pool of 20-year-old men is projected to fall from 257,000 in 2022 to 120,000 by 2043. The Military Manpower Administration said universal conscription is not under official consideration, while officials and experts called for societal consensus and broader military reform.

The number of 20-year-old men eligible for military service fell from 332,000 in 2019 to 257,000 in 2022, and is projected to reach 228,000 by 2035 and 120,000 by 2043.

Under current law, every able-bodied South Korean man aged 18 to 38 must serve, while women can join the military only voluntarily as officers or noncommissioned officers.

President Lee Jae Myung has proposed a selective enlistment system offering a 10-month rank-and-file track or a 36-month noncommissioned officer track with better pay and benefits.

A Reform Institute poll of 1,006 adults conducted on Aug. 18 found that six in 10 South Koreans supported mandatory military enlistment for women, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The government repealed in 2023 a law requiring the military to maintain 500,000 full-time troops in response to population decline.

Published Oct 20, 2026 7:00 am KST

Experts say consensus should come first

Female South Korean soldiers stationed on Yeonpyeong Island, Incheon, pose while resolving to defend the nation's northwestern frontier, Sept. 4. Courtesy of ROK Marine Corps

South Korea’s decade-old debate over female conscription resurfaced during a National Assembly audit this month, amid growing concerns that a shrinking draft-eligible population could undermine military readiness.

During a National Assembly defense committee audit on Oct. 12, opposition lawmakers raised the issue, arguing that the time has come for a public discussion as the eligible male population continues to fall. Defense ministry data shows the pool of 20-year-old men eligible for service dropped from 332,000 in 2019 to 257,000 in 2022, and is projected to fall further to 228,000 by 2035 and 120,000 by 2043.

Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party said, "Now, we must officially put female conscription on the table. This will also require broad societal consensus."

Rep. Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party used the term “gender-equal conscription” — meaning mandatory service for both men and women — to call for a broader discussion on reforming the system.

“If we continue wringing a dry towel without even considering gender-equal conscription as an option, I question whether that is truly desirable from the standpoint of combat capability or national interest,” he said.

Military Manpower Administration (MMA) Commissioner Hong So-young said the agency and the defense ministry are not officially considering universal conscription at this time, but acknowledged the demographic trajectory.

"After 2037, our draft-eligible population will plunge sharply, falling below 150,000 after 2040," Hong said. "The MMA will begin efforts to raise public awareness regarding the importance of fulfilling military service."

She added the ministry and MMA are working to build broader consensus on the matter, in part by increasing the number of female officers.

Women receive career counseling at an Army booth at the "Goyang Future Career Fair," held at the KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 27. Yonhap

Female conscription has periodically resurfaced as a political issue, but it has rarely been debated publicly amid documented cases of sexual abuse within the military, concerns over crimes against women in service and deep gender divisions in Korean society.

Under the current law, every able-bodied South Korean man between the ages of 18 and 38 is obliged by law to serve in the military. Mandatory conscription was introduced in 1950 and designed around an expanding postwar population. The government repealed a law requiring the military to maintain a force of 500,000 full-time troops in 2023 in response to population decline.

President Lee Jae Myung has been pushing a selective enlistment system since his presidential campaign and has continued to advocate for it since taking office in June 2025. In August, he stressed the need for South Korea to adopt a selective enlistment system to transform the country’s armed forces into a “smart, elite and powerful military” centered on advanced equipment and technology.

Under his proposal, eligible individuals would choose between two tracks: a shortened 10-month term as rank-and-file conscripts or a 36-month term as noncommissioned officers with better pay and benefits than the current system offers.

Visitors walk past a military fence adorned with ribbons with messages written on them at Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri Park near the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas, in Paju, Sept. 30. AFP-Yonhap

Shifting public opinion

Public support for female conscription has grown as well.

A recent poll by the Reform Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Reform Party, showed six in 10 South Koreans now support mandatory military enlistment for women — a significant shift from surveys conducted just a few years ago, when support remained below 50 percent.

The survey was conducted on Aug. 18 among 1,006 adults aged 18 and older nationwide and had a response rate of 2.3 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Views among young women are mixed. A 26-year-old female student surnamed Kim said she supports female conscription, but only if crimes against women in the military are addressed and conditions for soldiers improve.

“If male manpower falls short, I believe women could also be subject to conscription for national security, given the ongoing division between North and South Korea. However, there are numerous issues in the military. For example, sexual abuses targeting female personnel in military, among other systemic problems, must be fully transparent, with strict accountability and proper institutional reforms," Kim said.

"Broadening the draft pool without fixing these fundamental problems first just doesn't seem like the right approach."

Park, a 33-year-old office worker, opposed the idea, arguing that future warfare would center on technology and that the military should focus on leveraging advanced capabilities rather than expanding headcount.

"Without even touching on gender equality issues, I think female conscription would simply be inefficient, even setting aside the cost and time involved in establishing the system," Park said.

"Despite shrinking troop numbers, future wars will center on technology and advanced weaponry, so we would be better off developing our defense capabilities in that direction using the forces we already have."

Drones, multipurpose unmanned ground vehicles and quadruped robots advance ahead of soldiers as a drone creates a smoke screen to obscure the simulated enemy's view during an integrated unmanned combat demonstration at the Yangpyeong General Training Ground in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of Republic of Korea Army

Systemic reform first

Experts broadly agreed that societal consensus must come before any policy change, with several warning that simply expanding the draft would be counterproductive without deeper reforms.

"Society needs to discuss why the debate over female mandatory conscription emerged. Any subsequent discussion must gather and reflect the diverse views across our society," Huh Chang-deog, a professor at Yeungnam University, said, adding that before expanding the troops, the country must first address military working conditions and human rights issues in the military.

Calling the idea of unilaterally conscripting women without improving working conditions and soldiers’ status “lazy” and warning that it would deepen social divisions, he said the country may need to encourage voluntary enlistment for anyone who wants to serve by giving more benefits like the United States and making the job “honorable.”

"People join the U.S. military voluntarily because the benefits are substantial ... With jobs so hard to find right now, plenty of young people would willingly join the military if there are good benefits," Huh said.

Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said female conscription was not yet urgently needed.

"If things get so bad that we can't defend against North Korea without drafting women, then that requires a political decision. But are we in that situation right now? I don't think so."

He proposed a phased approach, suggesting first opening voluntary enlistment for women as enlisted soldiers before considering a broader expansion, given that currently women can only join the armed forces as officers.

Park Jin-soo, a professor at Duksung Women's University, said conscripting women using traditional models is an outdated and nationalistic approach that ignores the realities of modern warfare.

"This premise relies on a troop structure of the past centered on Army conscripts ... What we need are skilled technical specialists in the military," Park said.

"The real discussion should be about overhauling the current conscription system. We need to focus on reducing short-term conscripts and offering better pay and welfare to attract long-term technical specialists and career officers. In that context, expanding roles for women naturally doubles our high-quality talent pool.”

10月12日，韩国国会国防委员会举行审计会议，议员们再次就女性征兵问题展开辩论，原因是符合征兵条件的男性人口正在减少。预计20岁男性人口将从2022年的25.7万人下降到2043年的12万人。韩国兵务厅表示，普遍征兵不在官方考虑之列，但官员和专家呼吁社会达成共识，并进行更广泛的军事改革。

2019 年符合服兵役条件的 20 岁男性人数为 332,000 人，到 2022 年下降至 257,000 人，预计到 2035 年将达到 228,000 人，到 2043 年将达到 120,000 人。

根据现行法律，所有 18 至 38 岁的身体健全的韩国男性都必须服兵役，而女性只能自愿加入军队，担任军官或士官。

李在明总统提议实行选择性征兵制度，提供 10 个月的普通士兵服役期或 36 个月的士官服役期，士官服役期的薪酬和福利更好。

改革研究所于 8 月 18 日对 1006 名成年人进行的民意调查发现，十分之六的韩国人支持女性强制服兵役，误差幅度为正负 3.2 个百分点。

2023年，政府废除了一项法律，该法律要求军队维持50万全职士兵以应对人口下降。

发布于2026年10月20日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

专家表示，共识应首先达成。

9月4日，驻扎在仁川延坪岛的韩国女兵们摆出造型，决心保卫国家西北边境。图片由韩国海军陆战队提供。

韩国长达十年的女性征兵问题在本月国会审计期间再次浮出水面，人们越来越担心符合征兵条件的人口减少可能会削弱军队战备能力。

10月12日，在国民议会国防委员会的一次审计中，反对派议员提出了这个问题，他们认为，随着适龄男性人口持续下降，现在是时候就此展开公开讨论了。国防部数据显示，20岁适龄男性服役人数从2019年的33.2万人下降到2022年的25.7万人，预计到2035年将进一步下降到22.8万人，到2043年将下降到12万人。

主要反对党国民力量党议员柳英夏表示：“现在，我们必须正式将女性征兵问题提上议程。这也需要广泛的社会共识。”

改革党议员全夏岚使用“男女平等征兵制”（即男女均须服兵役）一词，呼吁就改革该制度展开更广泛的讨论。

他说：“如果我们继续徒劳无功，甚至不考虑实行性别平等的征兵制，我质疑从战斗力或国家利益的角度来看，这是否真的可取。”

兵务厅厅长洪素英表示，该机构和国防部目前尚未正式考虑实行全民征兵制，但承认人口结构的变化趋势。

洪先生表示：“2037年后，我国符合征兵条件的人口将急剧下降，2040年后将降至15万人以下。马来西亚兵役局将开始努力提高公众对履行兵役义务重要性的认识。”

她补充说，该部和马来西亚军警协会正在努力就此事达成更广泛的共识，部分措施包括增加女警官的数量。

8月27日，在京畿道高阳市KINTEX会展中心举行的“高阳未来职业博览会”上，女性在陆军展位接受职业咨询。（韩联社）

女性征兵问题时不时地会作为一个政治议题再次出现，但在军队中性虐待案件频发、对服役中女性遭受犯罪的担忧以及韩国社会根深蒂固的性别分歧等情况下，这个问题很少被公开讨论。

根据现行法律，所有年龄在18至38岁之间的韩国成年男性都必须依法服兵役。强制征兵制于1950年引入，旨在应对战后人口增长。为应对人口下降，政府废除了一项要求军队在2023年维持50万全职兵力的法律。

李在明总统自竞选总统以来就一直力推择优征兵制度，并在2025年6月就职后继续倡导该制度。8月，他强调韩国需要实行择优征兵制度，以将韩国军队转型为一支以先进装备和技术为核心的“精锐、智能、强大的军队”。

根据他的提议，符合条件的个人可以选择两条道路：一条是为期 10 个月的普通应征入伍，另一条是为期 36 个月的士官服役，后者的薪酬和福利比现行制度更好。

9月30日，在韩国坡州市临津阁平和山林公园，游客走过一道装饰着彩带的军用围栏，彩带上写着各种标语。临津阁平和山林公园位于朝韩非军事区附近。（法新社-韩联社）

公众舆论的转变

公众对女性征兵的支持率也随之上升。

改革党下属智库改革研究所最近的一项民意调查显示，十分之六的韩国人现在支持女性强制服兵役——这与几年前进行的调查结果相比发生了显著变化，当时的支持率还不到 50%。

该调查于 8 月 18 日在全国范围内对 1006 名 18 岁及以上的成年人进行，回复率为 2.3%，在 95% 的置信水平下，误差幅度为正负 3.2 个百分点。

年轻女性对此看法不一。一位26岁的金姓女学生表示，她支持女性征兵，但前提是必须解决军队中针对女性的犯罪问题，并改善士兵的待遇。

金表示：“如果男性兵力不足，考虑到朝韩之间持续存在的分裂，我认为为了国家安全，女性也可能需要被征召入伍。然而，军队中存在诸多问题。例如，针对女兵的性侵犯等系统性问题，必须做到完全透明，并追究严格的责任，进行适当的制度改革。”

“在不先解决这些根本问题的情况下扩大选秀范围，似乎并不是正确的做法。”

33岁的上班族朴某反对这一想法，他认为未来的战争将以技术为中心，军队应该专注于利用先进能力，而不是扩大兵力规模。

“即使不考虑性别平等问题，我认为女性征兵制度效率低下，即使不考虑建立该制度所需的成本和时间，”朴说道。

“尽管军队人数减少，但未来的战争将以技术和先进武器为中心，因此我们最好利用现有力量朝这个方向发展我们的防御能力。”

周三，在京畿道杨平综合训练场举行的无人机联合作战演习中，无人机、多用途无人地面车辆和四足机器人走在士兵前面，一架无人机制造烟幕，遮蔽模拟敌人的视线。图片由韩国陆军提供。

首先进行系统性改革

专家们普遍认为，任何政策改变都必须以社会共识为前提，一些专家警告说，如果不进行更深层次的改革，仅仅扩大征兵范围将会适得其反。

“社会需要讨论女性强制征兵辩论的由来。任何后续讨论都必须汇集并反映社会各界的不同观点，”岭南大学教授许昌德表示，并补充说，在扩充军队之前，国家必须首先解决军队的工作条件和人权问题。

他称在不改善工作条件和士兵地位的情况下单方面征召妇女入伍的想法是“懒惰的”，并警告说这将加深社会分裂。他表示，该国可能需要鼓励任何想服役的人自愿入伍，给予更多像美国一样的福利，并使这份工作“光荣”。

“人们自愿加入美国军队是因为福利待遇优厚……现在工作这么难找，如果福利待遇好，很多年轻人都愿意参军，”胡说。

峨山政策研究所研究员杨宇表示，目前还没有迫切需要实行女性征兵制。

“如果情况恶化到我们无法在不征召女性的情况下抵御朝鲜，那就需要做出政治决定。但我们现在真的到了那种地步吗？我不这么认为。”

他提出了一种分阶段的方法，建议先开放女性自愿入伍成为士兵，然后再考虑扩大范围，因为目前女性只能以军官身份加入军队。

德成女子大学教授朴镇洙表示，采用传统模式征召女性参军是一种过时的民族主义做法，忽视了现代战争的现实。

“这种前提依赖于过去以陆军征召兵为中心的部队结构……我们需要的是军队中技术娴熟的专家，”朴说道。

“真正的讨论重点应该是改革现行的征兵制度。我们需要着重减少短期征兵人数，并提供更高的薪酬和福利，以吸引长期技术专家和职业军官。在这种情况下，扩大女性的岗位自然会使我们的高素质人才库翻一番。”