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Attendees take a commemorative photograph at the 19th Ministry of National Defense Gender Equality Committee held in the grand conference room of the Ministry of National Defense on the afternoon of July 2. / Ministry of National Defense

The Ministry of National Defense held a gender equality committee meeting at its headquarters on July 2 to systematically advance gender equality policies and support work-life balance, while also hosting an appointment ceremony for civilian members. During the meeting, attendees built a consensus on the need to improve conditions for male service members taking parental leave.

The gender equality committee was co-chaired by the Vice Minister of National Defense and Kim Young-mi, a partner attorney at Law Firm Sungin. The newly appointed civilian members consist of 10 experts with gender equality expertise from various fields, including the legal profession, research institutes, and academia. Over the next two years, they will work alongside eight internal members to establish and develop gender equality policies.

Following the appointment ceremony, the main meeting proceeded with discussions on creating a work environment where work and family life harmonize, allowing service members to focus entirely on national defense. The committee positively evaluated the recent steady increase in the utilization of parental leave among male service members. The ministry explained that the committee formed a consensus on the need to substantially improve the conditions for using such leave.

Accordingly, the Ministry of National Defense decided to push for a research project to review improvements to the parental leave system, and to continuously identify effective alternatives through the "Subcommittee for Gender Equality System Improvement," in which civilian experts and internal director-level members from each military branch will participate.

In addition, to ensure that maternity protection systems for pregnant service women function effectively on the ground, the ministry plans to publish a revised edition of the "Guide for Supporting Happy Childbirth and Childrearing of Military Families," reflecting the latest changes in relevant systems, and distribute it across the entire military.

Lee Doo-hee, Vice Minister of National Defense, emphasized the strengthening of defense gender equality policies, stating, "Work-life balance is a fundamental foundation of a strong military that substantially improves the service conditions of officers and maximizes their mission capabilities."

                                                                                                              Lee Han-sol