MONTHLY WAGE OF ENLISTED SERVICEMEN

[Anchor Lead]

The monthly wage of enlisted servicemen will likely be set at one million won next year. That's only half of what President Yoon promised when running for the office. The Ministry of National Defense is considering raising the amount to two million won in phases by 2025.

[Pkg]

When running for president, Yoon Suk-yeol promised to raise the monthly wage of enlisted soldiers to two million won. But funding was an issue.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(Then-President-elect(Jan. 9)) : "I've been thinking about how soldiers' wages can be raised in a rational way. If this needs to be done, then we'll go for it."

The presidential transition committee decided to raise the wage amount in phases and provide state subsidies as well. The goal is to raise soldiers' current monthly salary of less than 820,000 won to two million won by 2025 .According to the plan submitted by the Ministry of National Defense to Rep. Min Hong-chul's office, soldiers' monthly wage will be set at one million won next year and raised at first to 1.25 million won and eventually to 1.5 million won by 2025. State subsidies will be raised to 300,000 won, 400,000 won and 550,000 won. By the year 2025, enlisted servicemen will receive 2,050,000 won a month, including subsidies. The extra budget for soldiers' remuneration is estimated at 400 billion won next year, 700 billion won in 2024, and one trillion won in 2025. The Defense Ministry says although the goal to raise soldiers' wages is clear, the budget issue has yet to be resolved. The ministry says it's discussing the matter with relevant organizations and will implement the plan in phases based on the impact of the wage raise on high-ranking servicemen and financial conditions.