President Lee Visits Marine Unit on Yeonpyeongdo: "Minimizing Conscription and Moving Toward Selective Volunteer Military System"

President Lee Jae-myung visited the Marine Corps Yeonpyeong Unit located on Daeyeonpyeongdo, Incheon, on Wednesday, one day ahead of the 76th anniversary of the Korean War, to hold a luncheon meeting with the troops.

President Lee personally served himself food, including yukgaejang (spicy beef soup) and bulgogi, before sitting down with the soldiers to discuss improvements to military culture.

President Lee first offered his encouragement, stating, "Thanks to your sacrifice and dedication, our citizens are able to enjoy a comfortable daily life."

He continued, "You may feel that your time in the military is a loss. However, it is my belief that those who make special sacrifices must be met with special compensation to ensure fairness," promising that the government would spare no support for the soldiers.

"There are three stages to national security. Winning a fight and winning without fighting are important, but what is even more important is creating a situation where there is no need to fight," President Lee explained. "That is peace. Peace is the strongest foundation for security."

At the same time, he emphasized, "This peace must be based on a powerful deterrent that overwhelms the enemy. We will reorganize the Republic of Korea's military in a future-oriented manner and strengthen your capabilities so that it can be reborn as a powerful military that we can proudly present to the world."

In particular, President Lee stated, "I will change the system so that you do not waste your precious time in the military, but rather gain skills that will help you demonstrate your abilities when you return to society. As I have promised several times, I will minimize conscription and allow people to choose the military as their career through a volunteer system."

He further explained, "What we intend to do is a selective volunteer military system, where one can choose to become a professional soldier receiving sufficient compensation within the limits of the budget, or if they prefer not to, choose to serve in short-term conscription."

He added, "If we implement a volunteer system, there will naturally be specialized fields, and in this case, the experience will be useful when returning to society."

In addition, President Lee listened to suggestions regarding issues such as reducing ferry fares for travel from Yeonpyeongdo to the mainland, expanding fitness equipment at the unit, and improving medical support.

(Photo: Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.