Military Recruitment Issues in the ROK Armed Forces and Policy Alternatives: Focusing on the Army Non-commissioned Officer

Abstract

The Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) is regarded as the core of military combat forces performing their duties at the front-line of defense, but the recent drop in applications and enrollment of Army NCOs has hampered the acquisition and operation of the workforce. As a way to solve this problem, the Army is paying attention to job security and has been implementing the “Long-Term service NCO upon commissioning” recruiting system in the second half of 2018. In this study, we surveyed 1,492 young and active duty soldiers considering the above problems and current situation, and empirically analyzed what factors, including occupational safety, would undermine the applications and enrollment of Army NCOs. The results of the analysis showed that low occupational status, low job security, a lack of trust in the military, inadequate career and career development conditions, uncomfortable work environment and region, and hierarchical culture of the military have had an influence over the recent drop in applications and enrollment of Army NCOs. In addition, the McNemar test was conducted to further analyze the effectuality of the incentive for people to apply to become Army NCOs. As a result of the analysis, it was confirmed that in all groups, the effect the “Long- Term service NCO upon commissioning” recruiting system was far better than the traditional recruiting system. Based on the results of the above study, several policy proposals have been suggested to improve the acquisition of the Army NCO.