Officials¡¯ sons often avoid military

The military service exemption rate of high-ranking officials¡¯ sons is higher than that of ordinary citizens¡¯ children, an Military Manpower Administration (MMA) report showed.

The exemption rate of children born between 1960 and 1969 of court and prosecutor¡¯s office officials posted 42.9 percent, that of National Assemblymen¡¯s sons 32.9 percent, both higher than the 30 percent of ordinary citizens¡¯ sons, the report said.

In the case of children of officials above the fourth rank at the MMA, the rate of those born between 1970 and 1979 marked 19 percent, higher than 14.3 percent of those of ordinary citizens.

The MMA submitted the report Thursday to Rep. Chyung Dai-Chul of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, who is serving on the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, as a material for the parliamentary inspection of state affairs.

According to the report, of a total of 6,819 children of high-ranking public post holders subject to the compulsory military service, 928 are now in the armed forces.

Of 525 now in the army, 52 percent is serving in the administrative or technical sector, rather than in combat units, it added.

¡°The statistics prove a possibility that behind-the-scene irregularities might be taking place in the course of stationing the children of high-ranking officials to units,¡± Rep. Chyung said.

Meanwhile, of the total 5,780 high-ranking officials, 993 or 17.2 percent were exempted from military service, lower than the average of 30 percent of ordinary citizens, according to the report.

Cheon Seung-Hoon raphy@donga.com