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Up until this year, cadets at South Korea’s military academies were banned from getting married, smoking cigarettes, and drinking alcohol off campus as part of an effort to instill a sense of discipline throughout their four-year training and education process.
From this year, however, the Army, Navy and the Air Force Academies have eased their rules to allow cadets to drink outside the schools, as the policy was criticized for being out-of-date. Drinking on campus and in uniform is still banned. The rule was revised last year and has been in effect since this March.
“The decision reflects the public perception toward drinking culture. Cadets would also need to have drinking experience (and learn to control themselves) before becoming an officer and leading his own subordinates,” a military official told reporters on Monday on customary condition of anonymity.
The previous regulation prohibits students from drinking alcohol without permission from their superintendents.
But the ban on marriage and smoking remains unchanged, said the official. The military has claimed that marriage would conflict with the values of military education and that smoking would compromise the ability to operate delicate military equipment such as jet fighters and submarines.
The decision reflected changes in the strict abstinence regulations in military academies for almost 60 years. Critics have called their policies “antiquated” and accused them of violating an individual’s right to pursue happiness.
A 25-year-old cadet filed a lawsuit in 2013 against the Army Academy over its decision to expel him for having sex with his girlfriend at his house. The court ruled in favor of the cadet, saying that the school’s decision violates his constitutional right because having a sexual relationship is a personal business.
Faced with mounting calls for changes since the ruling, the Army announced in 2014 a plan to review and overhaul, if necessary, the controversial regulation. The Army implemented the policy in 1951 and has never revised it until now.
By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
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