The Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday it has increased monetary compensation by nearly 2.5 times for soldiers who die while on active duty as part of efforts to improve conditions for the nation's troops.
Under a revised enforcement ordinance of the Military Pension Law, compensation for those killed during a routine training mission was
increased to 90.72 million won (US$76,024) from 36.56 million won, the ministry said in a statement.
The revised ordinance became effective earlier Wednesday after its approval by the Cabinet, ministry officials said.
The increase "reflects the government's willingness to strengthen its responsibility for troops who devoted themselves to the country," the
ministry statement said.
A newly added provision sets compensation at 152.7 million won for soldiers who die while performing hazardous duty in a non-combat zone, such as deep-sea rescue operations or mine disposal.
"The new rule is aimed at correcting what many critics described as paltry compensation for the families of soldiers killed in such dangerous
missions," a ministry official said.
However, compensation for service members killed in a combat zone was frozen at 200 million won, the ministry said.
All able-bodied South Korean men must complete at least two years of military service, an integral part of the South's defense against communist North Korea.
South Korea's 650,000 troops, backed by some 28,500 U.S. soldiers stationed here, face the North's 1.1-million-strong army. The two Koreas are
still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.