Abolition of 'Korean History and Language Exam' Bonus Points for Military Recruitment from October

[Financial News] From October, bonus points for tests such as the Korean History Proficiency Test will be abolished when applying for military recruitment. Additionally, a pilot system will be operated to select next year's enlistees this year for certain specialties of the Army's technical administrative soldiers.
On the 7th, the Military Manpower Administration announced this with the intention of reducing the burden on young people preparing for military service and improving the efficiency of the recruitment selection process.
The reason for granting bonus points for these certificates in each military branch was to encourage the acquisition of historical awareness and basic Korean language skills, which were considered necessary for military duties. However, the abolition is due to the lack of relevance to military duties and the increased burden on applicants.
Therefore, from October this year, the Military Manpower Administration will eliminate the bonus points for the Korean History Proficiency Test and the Korean Language Proficiency Test. All non-accredited civilian certificates unrelated to combat (specialty) such as martial arts certificates have been abolished.
The maximum bonus points have been lowered from 15 points to 10 points, and the high school attendance score, which was applied differently by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, has been unified to 5 points.
The Military Manpower Administration stated, "The focus on unnecessary certificate acquisition by applicants will be greatly reduced," and "The burden on young people preparing for military enlistment will be alleviated, and the efficiency of the recruitment selection process will be improved."
In addition, the Military Manpower Administration plans to pilot a recruitment system in October this year to select next year's enlistees for six specialties of the Army's technical administrative soldiers.
Until now, it took about three months from application to selection for recruitment enlistment. There was no problem with recruitment in the first half of the year, which is the preferred enlistment period. However, in the second half of the year, which is the non-preferred enlistment period, the number of applicants decreased, making it difficult to maintain stable troop management and combat readiness.
Hong So-young, Commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, said, "This system improvement is an effort to create a more practical and fair selection system by reorganizing evaluation items with low relevance to military duties," and "We will continuously refine the entire enlistment system to meet the public's expectations."


wangjylee@fnnews.com Lee Jong-yun Reporter