Kim Moon-soo Candidate Announces the Revival of Military Service Points System

Kim Moon-soo, a candidate in the People Power Party's presidential primary, announced on the 23rd a pledge to revive the military service points system, which would grant military points to all individuals who have fulfilled their military obligations regardless of gender.

Candidate Kim stated, "The military service points system is a minimal courtesy to the youth who dedicated themselves to their country in a conscription-based nation."

In the announcement of his pledge, Candidate Kim said, "We plan to grant military points to all military service fulfillers so that those who have dedicated themselves to the nation receive fair compensation," adding, "This will boost pride in military service as well as support the stable social integration of those who have served."

He emphasized, "The current system has the side effect of implying that fulfilling military service automatically leads to a career interruption. It is time to fundamentally change this, so that military service becomes the starting point of a career." He also stated, "In a nation like the Republic of Korea, which is still in a ceasefire, military strength is both the nation's competitiveness and economic livelihood," further asserting, "Expanding the professionalism and diversity of the military and providing fair compensation is the way for the Republic of Korea to become a prosperous and strong nation."

"It is time to fundamentally change this, so that military service becomes the starting point of a career."

Expansion of Female Military Professionals and Application of Military Points System

Candidate Kim also announced plans to expand female military professionals. He said, "We will increase the number of female military professionals in various fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) combined operation of manned and unmanned advanced equipment, military prosecution, military training, and administration," adding, "We plan to initially increase the ratio of female soldiers to 30% based on other advanced countries."

Currently, the ratio of female soldiers in advanced countries such as Nordic countries and Israel is around 30%, while in the Republic of Korea, it stands at a mere 11%.

Park Soo-young, the head of policy at Kim Moon-soo's campaign, explained, "We will pursue the application of the military points system to public offices, public institutions, and corporate hiring in the same way as it was done in the past," stating, "If the government and public institutions take the lead in applying this, companies will gradually implement it as well."

Regarding budget issues, he mentioned, "Since maintaining troops is the current focus, increasing female personnel does not incur additional costs," and noted, "The military points system does not require hiring additional personnel, so we consider it a project that will not incur extra budget."

He also emphasized, "Following the wage increase for sergeants promoted by the Yoon Seok-yeol government, we are also promoting wage increases for non-commissioned officers," asserting, "We must fundamentally improve the treatment of those above the rank of non-commissioned officer."

Candidate Kim has previously proposed various community-oriented pledges, including expanding the free ride system for the elderly outside of commuting hours, mandatory installation of elderly convenience facilities in 25% of new public housing with special supply, half-price rent zones near universities, increasing the supply of one-person-type apartments and officetels, and providing housing that accommodates multiple living arrangements.

Military Points System Declared Unconstitutional by Constitutional Court in 1999

The military points system was abolished after being declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in 1999.

At that time, the Constitutional Court ruled that the system had the potential for discrimination against women and people with disabilities.

Candidate Kim's current pledge presents a form that supplements the past unconstitutional aspects by granting points to all military service fulfillers regardless of gender.

The revival of the military points system has been continuously discussed as a means to support the social advancement of service members and compensate for fulfilling military duties, though it has not been realized due to equity issues.

Image source: News1, Kim Moon-soo's official Facebook page, Kim Moon-soo, a candidate in the People Power Party's presidential primary, speaks at a meeting with local legislators at the People Power Party headquarters in Daegu's Suseong District on the morning of April 20, 2025. / News1