Nearly 10,000 Social Service Workers Violated Duty Rules Over Five Years

Amid public controversy over WINNER member Song Min-ho being indicted for more than 100 days of unauthorized absences during his social service, data reveals that misconduct among social service workers performing military duty at public institutions has reached serious levels, demanding urgent countermeasures.

According to documents submitted by the Military Manpower Administration to the office of Rep. Kang Sun-young of the People Power Party on the National Assembly Defense Committee on June 3, approximately 10,000 social service workers committed duty violations including desertion and breach of service obligations over the past five years from 2021 to 2025.

Annual figures show an increase from 1,743 in 2021 to 2,077 in 2022 and 2,125 in 2023, before declining slightly to 1,893 in 2024 and 1,671 in 2025, bringing the total to 9,509 confirmed cases.

Among these, violations classified as "breach of service obligations"—including workplace discipline violations, work interference, and unauthorized secondary employment—totaled 4,909 cases: 924 in 2021, 1,087 in 2022, 1,038 in 2023, 981 in 2024, and 879 in 2025.

Cases classified as "desertion of duty"—including unauthorized tardiness, early departure, and leaving the workplace—totaled 4,600: 819 in 2021, 990 in 2022, 1,087 in 2023, 912 in 2024, and 792 in 2025.

Notably, the majority of social service workers faced warnings resulting in extended service periods due to serious discipline problems.

Of those who violated service obligations, 4,847 received warnings with service extensions over five years, accounting for 98.7% of cases. Only 62 were formally charged, representing 1.2% of total violators.

For desertion violations, 3,508 received warnings with service extensions, comprising 76.3% of cases. Criminal charges were filed against 1,092 individuals over five years, or 23.7% of total violators.

Under current regulations, social service workers who desert for seven days or fewer face service extensions of five times the number of days absent, while those absent for eight days or more are subject to criminal prosecution.

Cases of service suspension due to detention for general crimes—including assault, fraud, theft, and sexual offenses—have also steadily increased. A total of 343 individuals had their service suspended after being detained for criminal offenses over five years: 59 in 2021, 56 in 2022, 93 in 2023, 61 in 2024, and 74 in 2025.

Twenty-three social service workers were detained for drug-related crimes over five years, accounting for approximately 7% of the total.

Despite these circumstances, the Military Manpower Administration employs only about 110 service supervisors, meaning each supervisor oversees approximately 430 social service workers.

"The Military Manpower Administration claims it has increased supervisors and inspection frequency, but the current system has limitations in properly managing and supervising more than 40,000 social service workers," Rep. Kang said. "We need innovative improvements to address both the shortage of active-duty soldiers and management issues for social service workers by resetting classification criteria and subdividing active-duty categories into combat and non-combat roles."