From 2020 to August this year, 19,607 South Korean men aged 18 to 40, eligible for mandatory military service, renounced their citizenship. Over the past five years, nearly 20,000 men have given up their citizenship, averaging around 4,000 per year. Active-duty enlistments, which totaled 274,292 in 2014, dropped to 187,188 last year, a decline of 87,000 in less than a decade. As birth rates fall, military resources are shrinking rapidly, with 4,000 men renouncing citizenship each year.
Under current law, those who avoid military service by renouncing citizenship can still obtain an F-4 visa at age 41, allowing them to work in South Korea. If they emigrate with their families and obtain permanent residency abroad, they can effectively avoid military service without formally renouncing citizenship. By staying abroad and avoiding long-term stays in South Korea, they are exempt from military duty at 38.
In Singapore, renouncing citizenship to avoid military service is far more difficult. It must be proven that the individual has never benefited from Singaporean society. Even those who emigrated as children can be denied if they traveled with a Singaporean passport or attended kindergarten there. Staying abroad without serving is treated as desertion. Some young men who obtained foreign citizenship after emigrating have been arrested at the airport and jailed upon returning to Singapore. Those under 40 must still serve in the military, while those over 40 face harsher penalties, as they are no longer eligible to serve.
Singapore also imposes mandatory service on male permanent residents under 40. If they renounce citizenship or residency to avoid service, they are barred from studying, working, or staying in Singapore long-term. In Singapore, military service is mandatory for anyone who wishes to participate in society.
Singapore’s history and situation differ from South Korea’s. Rather than just increasing penalties for those who renounce citizenship to avoid military service, South Korea should first offer real benefits to those who serve. Allowing individuals who dodged service abroad to return and live without distinction from those who completed their duty is no longer sustainable. The country can no longer afford this approach.
