Women, old men in military? South Korea debates solutions for looming conscript shortfall

Able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve in the military for one and a half years or longer. - PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL (The Korea Herald/ANN): Reforming military obligations for men in South Korea has always been a flashpoint for heated debate. But recently, fuel has been added to the fire with the emergence of two rather radical ideas.

One idea came from Professor Choi Young-jin from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, who proposed in an op-ed in a local daily newspaper the formation of a “senior army” composed of men aged between 55 and 75 to address an anticipated shortfall in military personnel.