South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has set a target to expand the female military personnel ratio to 15.3% by 2027, but the proportion of women in core combat branches remains at roughly half the target level, data showed. This has raised concerns about a concentration of female service members in non-combat branches such as finance, personnel, and public affairs.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of National Defense to Rep. Kang Sun-young of the People Power Party on the National Assembly Defense Committee on Wednesday, the female military personnel (officers and non-commissioned officers) ratio stands at 10.9% for the Army, 12.4% for the Navy, 12.4% for the Air Force, and 9.8% for the Marine Corps.
Of approximately 170,000 total officers and NCOs across all branches, fewer than 20,000 are women, accounting for roughly 11%.
The Army has approximately 12,700 female personnel, comprising about 5,300 officers and 7,400 NCOs. The Navy has about 2,740 women with 810 officers and 1,930 NCOs, while the Air Force has approximately 3,450 with 1,520 officers and 1,930 NCOs. The Marine Corps has about 830 female personnel, including 300 officers and 530 NCOs.
The data revealed a significant imbalance across military branches. Women are notably underrepresented in combat roles where promotions are relatively easier, while they are disproportionately concentrated in nursing, finance, personnel, and legal affairs.
In the Army, female personnel ratios by branch were 81.9% in nursing, 37.5% in personnel, 35.5% in finance, 37.8% in medical service, 30.6% in medical administration, 27.9% in legal affairs, 26.6% in public affairs, 23.5% in chemical warfare, and 21.3% in logistics.
In contrast, excluding military and dental medicine branches, combat roles showed female ratios below 10%: artillery at 4.9%, aviation at 6.4%, armor at 6.5%, infantry at 6.9%, and air defense at 7.7%.
The Navy and Air Force showed similar patterns. In the Navy, female officer ratios were highest in military police (24.2%), public affairs (20.2%), medical service (18.3%), supply (18.0%), shipbuilding (16.9%), and finance (16.4%). However, combat branches were significantly lower, with aviation at 9.9% and ship operations at 11.2%. Female NCOs in ship operations accounted for only 9.9%.
In the Air Force, female officer ratios were high in public affairs (27.2%), finance (24.1%), personnel education (25.1%), meteorology (22.4%), engineering (21.8%), and military police (20.1%). The pilot branch, a core combat role, had only 4.9% female representation.
The Marine Corps showed the same trend. Female personnel ratios by branch were finance (25.4%), military police (21.5%), public affairs (17.2%), logistics (13.1%), information and communications (12.2%), and engineering (11.6%). Combat branches all fell below 10%: artillery at 5.2%, armor at 6.3%, and infantry at 8.5%.
Adding to the concern, the number of female service members requesting voluntary discharge has increased more than 1.5-fold over seven years, from 62 in 2018 to 109 in 2024. The situation is particularly severe among female staff sergeants, a critical workforce segment, with voluntary discharge requests surging more than 2.5-fold from 20 in 2018 to 54 in 2024.
"While military authorities have focused solely on the quantitative goal of expanding female military personnel, voluntary discharges are increasing and women are becoming concentrated in certain branches," Rep. Kang said. "The government must establish long-term, fundamental solutions through balanced personnel management that enables women to serve in combat branches and key positions, along with improvements to the service environment for female military personnel."
Military authorities have announced plans to expand the female military ratio to 15.3% (16% for officers, 14% for NCOs) by 2027, representing an increase of more than 6 percentage points from current levels.
