Korean Military Discharge Date Calculator

Military service in South Korea, briefly

South Korean men are required by law to do military service, usually in their 20s. Most serve as enlisted soldiers in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy or Air Force. Some serve as full-time reservists near home, as social service agents in public offices, or in alternative service for conscientious objectors. The length depends on the type of service, and the day service ends is called the discharge date (전역일, jeonyeok-il).

How to use this calculator

1. Choose the type of service and enter the enlistment date (the start date for social service agents and alternative service).
2. The "as of" date starts as today. Change it to see how much of the service is done on another day.
3. Use Copy result or Share to send the date and countdown to family or friends.

Service length by type

Current lengths published by the Military Manpower Administration (MMA), the Korean government agency that runs conscription.

The Military Service Act (Art. 18) sets enlisted service at 2 years for the Army, 2 years 2 months for the Navy (2 years for Marines) and 2 years 3 months for the Air Force. Article 19 lets the Minister of National Defense shorten it by up to six months, which is why the actual lengths are those in the table. Industrial technical personnel and professional researchers serve at designated companies under different rules, so they are not covered here.

How the discharge date is worked out

Under Article 27 of the Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act, enlisted service is counted from the day of enlistment, so enlistment day is day 1. Social service agents (Art. 56) and alternative service members (Enforcement Decree of the Alternative Service Act, Art. 28) count from the day they report. Full-time reservists enlist as active-duty soldiers first (Military Service Act Art. 21), so this calculator counts 18 months from enlistment.

Periods set in months end, under Article 160 of the Korean Civil Act, on the day before the same date in the final month. If that month has no such date, the period ends on the last day of the month.

Discharge date = the day before (enlistment date + months of service)

The Ministry of National Defense lookup table gives the same result: Army enlistment from June 2 to June 15, 2020 ended from December 1 to December 14, 2021. The date is shown as is, even when it falls on a weekend or holiday.

Enlistment in 2017–2020: phased shortening

When Army and Marine service was cut from 21 to 18 months, the Ministry shortened it by one day every two weeks, starting with people discharged on October 1, 2018. It began with those who enlisted on January 3, 2017 and reached the full 90 days for those who enlisted by June 15, 2020. For Army and Marine dates in that window, the calculator subtracts the shortening from the 21-month date, and it matches every row of the Ministry's table. The Navy (up to April 15, 2020 enlistment) and Air Force (up to March 15, 2020) have no row-by-row dates in the table, so only later dates are calculated.

Percent served and days left

• Total days counts both enlistment day and discharge day. Army enlistment on January 1, 2026 gives 546 days.
• Days served runs from enlistment day to the "as of" date, both included. Service completed is days served ÷ total days, cut to one decimal place.
• Days left is the discharge date minus the "as of" date. In the same example, on November 12, 2026, 316 days are served (57.8%) with 230 days left.
• Halfway point is the day that marks half of the total days: September 30, 2026 in the example.

Promotion dates are not calculated

Article 32 of the Enforcement Rule of the Military Personnel Management Act says enlisted soldiers are promoted one rank at a time after a minimum period in rank and a promotion review. Because the review and each service's practice can change the date, this calculator does not predict promotions.

When the real date can differ

• Days spent serving a sentence, in disciplinary training or absent without leave do not count, which pushes the date back (Military Service Act Art. 18(3), Enforcement Decree Art. 27(3)).
• Discharge can be held over, for example for hospital treatment or a major operation or exercise when the soldier wants to stay (Art. 18(4)).
• The Minister of National Defense can adjust service length in events such as war, a declared special disaster area, or time at sea or overseas deployment (Art. 19).

Sources

• Military Manpower Administration, How long is enlisted service? (Korean FAQ, updated Dec 29, 2025)
• Military Manpower Administration, Overview of military service (Korean)
• Military Manpower Administration, Social service agents (Korean)
• Ministry of National Defense, Shortening of enlisted service (lookup table) (Korean)
• Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act, Art. 27 and Art. 56 (Korean)
• Military Service Act, Art. 18, Art. 19 and Art. 21 (Korean)
• Civil Act, Art. 160 (Korean)
• Enforcement Rule of the Military Personnel Management Act, Art. 32 (Korean)
• Alternative Service Act, Art. 18 and its Enforcement Decree, Art. 28 (Korean)

Frequently asked questions