A Study on the Transition Strategy of Military Service in Korea Using PEST-SWOT-FUZZY-AHP

• Published in: 신산업경영저널 Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 3 - 30
• Main Authors: Juwon Park(박주원), Wonseok Kang(강원석)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 이화여자대학교 경영연구소 01.06.2021; 경영연구소
• Subjects: 경영학; 병역제도; Volunteer military system; PEST-SWOT-FUZZY-AHP 분석; 모병제도; Conscription; PEST-SWOT-FUZZY-AHP Analysis; 징병제도; Military service system
• ISSN: 2671-9223; 2713-5969
• DOI: 10.30753/emr.2021.39.1.001

The recent military service exemption and the Supreme Court's acquittal of conscientious objectors increased public awareness of the unfairness of the military service and accelerated the debate among politicians about a change in the military system. Particularly, the population decline due to the decreasing birth rate and a transition to high-tech military warfare are also calling for a change in the military service system. The change in the military service system refers to a change from the current conscription system maintained in Korea to the recruitment system, which is a system that forces the people to serve in the military, and the recruitment system refers to a system that maintains the military by recruiting applicants as professional soldiers. Against this backdrop, based on the PEST-SWOT-FUZZY-AHP analysis, this study used quantitative methodologies reflecting the response reliability of decision makers to overcome qualitative limitations emerging from the introduction of the current military service transition strategy. The study also aims to present the importance of each SWOT element as a strategic tool. The analysis revealed “the reinforcement of military structure and accelerating troop reduction”, “difficulty in securing military resources,” “an increase in public support,” and “difficulty in securing a budget” as most important strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat, respectively. The results lead to the following strategies: reinforcing military structure; drawing public support; building consensus based on internal military marketing; and securing budget for enhancing specialization, providing state-of-the-art military service, and procuring military resources This shows that the dynamic WT-WO-SO (SWOT) strategies can contribute toward the current positive scenario in Korea in the short-term. The study shows the use of quantitative methods for developing strategies in response to the change in the military service system. KCI Citation Count: 0