Small Business Owners Want to Maintain Travel Ban on ROK Servicemembers

It is stressful enough that Korean men have to do mandatory military service, but now they may have to continue to have a travel ban in place just to appease small business owners that profit from the travel ban:

The South Korean military is reconsidering its initial plan to completely lift the travel ban for soldiers following opposition to the move from representatives from military-heavy regions.

According to the ministry, Vice Minister Suh Choo-suk held a meeting on Wednesday with the mayors or county governors from the inter-Korean border areas and agreed to come up with an “improvement scheme” regarding the plan to abolish the restriction on the areas soldiers can visit during their leave.

The ministry plans to announce a revised plan within the year, considering various factors, including military readiness, military personnel’s basic human rights and economic impacts on the border regions.

Last month, the military accepted a proposal from an internal reform committee to lift the restrictions to guarantee soldiers their human rights. However, the governments and small business owners in the border regions have protested the measure, saying it will negatively affect the regional economies.   [KBS Global]