Korea to Cut Troops by 79,000

The government plans to cut the number of troops to 500,000 by 2022, a reduction of 79,000.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Wednesday said the government will reorganize the military to prepare for the decreasing number of soldiers due to a shrinking young population.

The government wants to increase the proportion of female soldiers from the current six percent to 8.8 percent in the next three years, and decide whether to make military service mandatory for naturalized Koreans.

Under current law, all able-bodied Korean men must serve nearly two years in the military, but naturalized Koreans can decide whether or not to serve.