WOMEN TO SERVE ABOARD SUBMARINES

[Anchor Lead]

Submarine service is one of the areas where the presence of female officers remains at zero levels in Korea. The Navy has decided to allow enlisted women to serve aboard submarines as well, and will select the first eligible officers next year.

[Pkg]

The Dosan Ahn Changho is Korea's first 3000-ton submarine, which was deployed by the Navy last year. All of its 50 crew members are men. But soon enlisted women will also be allowed to serve aboard the vessel. Their number will be limited to three. The first eligible servicewomen will be selected early next year. They will receive training before starting their service in 2024. The Navy says it's preparing to accommodate servicewomen on board the submarine and will finalize the plan at a policy meeting. The decision comes eight years after the matter was discussed for the first time. Thanks to the relatively spacious accommodations of the 3000-ton submarine, male and female soldiers can use facilities separately and work together without problems. Although naval rules ban gender discrimination, female officers have been restricted from serving on submarines so far due to lack of space and other inconveniences. However, creating conditions for their long service remains an issue. Every year, 35 million won is invested in training professional submarine crew members. But in the past five years, about 53 percent of male crew members have shunned serving on submarines, choosing early discharge instead.

[Soundbite] Moon Keun-shik(Former Submarine Captain) : "Benchmarking examples from overseas is needed to eliminate any conflicts by separating space and time."

Of the 38 countries around the world that have submarines, 12, including the U.S. and the U.K., allow female crew members.