Korean military will place female troops in more combat duties, such as artillery and armored forces, beginning next year.
The Ministry of National Defense said on Sept. 15 that a total of 12 combat branches that have so far been closed to female soldiers will be opened for them from next year to 2014.
Those dozen branches also include the Air Force’s air defense and the Navy’s fire control.
The military hasn’t placed female officers in special operations forces or reconnaissance units.
There are 6,957 female soldiers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. By 2020, the number is expected to reach 11,500, which accounts for 5.6 percent of the whole number of Korean troops.
The ministry said that it is planning to have seven percent of all officers and five percent of non-commissioned officers be women by the years 2015 and 2017, respectively. It is also planning to allow female students at all 108 universities with the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program nationwide apply for the program.
In March this year, the Navy and the Air Force announced plans to select female cadets for the ROTC program, following in the footsteps of the Army, which opened to women in 2010 for the first time since it started in 1963 and selected 60 cadets this year.
This year, only six universities, including Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul selected female ROTC cadets.
The ministry said about five percent of commissioned officers and three percent of non-commissioned officers were female at the end of last year.
All heathy men between 18 and 38 are conscripted for around two years, depending on the branch of the service. Women are not required to serve but may sign up to become either commissioned of non-commissioned officers.
In the meantime, in an effort to enhance interoperability of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the ministry is planning to run a system of exchanging positions of senior officers and other working officials in each military branch.