Defense ministry eases counseling experience rule for military life advisers

The revision to the enforcement decree of the Basic Act on the Status and Service of Military Personnel now specifies "counseling experience, including counseling experience obtained before the relevant degree was acquired." It took effect on the day it was issued.

Under the revision, applicants for the certification will be able to count counseling work performed before they obtained the relevant degree toward the experience requirement.

The defense ministry's decree was one of four revised together to expand recognition of practical work experience for young people entering society. The others cover the enforcement decrees of the Act on the Formation and Operation of Agricultural and Fisheries Investment Partnerships, the Noise and Vibration Control Act and the Act on Support for Out-of-School Youth. In all, four presidential decrees and four related bills — eight pieces of legislation in total — were approved at a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 27, with the Ministry of Government Legislation handling the legislative process as a single batch.

The Ministry of Government Legislation gathered ideas from young people through its online public platform in January, then focused on the reality that experience gained before a degree or certification was not properly recognized, and settled the reform agenda in consultation with the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

"With this legal revision, I expect that experience young people have built in the field will not be blocked by formal standards and will be evaluated reasonably," said Minister of Government Legislation Cho Won-chul.