South Korea deployed its first group of female service members to serve aboard submarines on Friday, the Navy said, amid efforts to broaden women’s role in the military.
Among 125 officers and noncommissioned officers, a total of nine female submariners completed the Navy’s basic submarine education in a ceremony at a key naval base in Changwon, 298 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The female service members include two officers and seven noncommissioned officers, with five of them to serve aboard the 3000-ton ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho. Another four will be aboard the ROKS Ahn-mu of the same class, the Navy said.
Female sailors had not been allowed to serve on submarines as relatively small vessels were not equipped with basic facilities for women, such as the restroom. But the acquisition of the mid-class 3,000-ton vessel has paved the way for their submarine duty in the male-dominated military.
The two officers will serve as combat intelligence officers to collect and analyze data necessary for the submarin
e’s navigation and operations, the Navy said.
The noncommissioned officers will each take on various roles, such as operating sonar, radar equipment and weapons systems as well as propulsion system maintenance, among others.
“I feel proud of becoming a member of a unit (operating) submarines, a national strategic asset,” Lt. Sung Ju-bin, who will serve aboard the Ahn-mu, was quoted as saying by the Navy.
“If the enemy conducts a provocation, we will covertly strike the heart of the enemy from underwater,” she said.
The two KSS-III Batch-I submarines are key assets for the country’s defense system, given that they are equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles, allowing the launch of surprise attacks in a contingency.
In 2022, the Navy announced a staffing policy change to allow female service members to join the submarine crew — a decision facilitated by its acquisition of a larger-size submarine.
The move came amid growing concerns that South Korea could face a shortage of troops due to its u
ltralow birthrate.
Aside from South Korea, only 13 countries around the world have female military submariners, such as the United States, Norway and Spain, according to the Navy.
Source: Yonhap News Agency