[Editorial] Noblesse Oblige

A large number of upper-class citizens were recently found to have taken advantage of the alternative military service. The prosecution, which has carried out investigations for three months on 1,700 companies in Seoul which are allowed to employee alternative military service personnel, found that 127 violated the military law. Most of them were the sons of high-ranking government officials, executives of conglomerates, professors, legal practitioners or celebrities. Roughly half of the children either attended a top tier domestic university or an overseas university. They have, however, tainted the image of “well-educated and successful people.”

The investigation proves that the Military Manpower Administration’s announcement that it introduced an early warning system to manage the children of the upper class was nonsense. Even those caught in a crackdown showed no signs of regret for their wrongdoings, but instead, they enjoyed their privileges as much as possible under the warning system. Some designated companies used the opportunity to hire qualified personnel at a relatively affordable wage as a means of fattening their pockets by providing a harbor for military dodgers. It illustrates that moral hazards have reached an extreme in our society.

Moreover, quite a number of those companies hired their employees behind close doors, just based on school ties or family connections, even if they did not have the necessary certificates. How absurd it is for the government to assign military administration in the hands of private companies. The government must take responsibility and continue its probe into government officials that may have broken the law in the process of selecting and managing alternative military personnel-designated companies.

Parents who seek to acquire a certificate of the military service for their children in an illicit way, without sending them to the military, must be punished. Those who are found to have exploited the existing alternative military system are the ones who have enjoyed privileges much more than average people. Therefore, they are the ones who should take more responsibility in the national security to protect what they have.

One small piece of pleasant news is that an increased number of recruits apply to the Marine Corps every year, although it is known to offer a tougher military life. The competition ratio is almost 10:1 and some young people are challenging it three times. Many affluent American families send their children to military academies instead of normal university to make them grow up strong; we should learn from this. Only leaders who are not ashamed of the military issues can contribute to creating a harmonious society.