Applying for Military Service Designated Company Selection — Requirements for Companies Receiving Industrial Technical Personnel and Expert Researchers and the June 30 Deadline

Procedure

1. 1. Check the selection criteria

   A research institute for expert researchers in principle needs at least 5 dedicated researchers with a master's degree or higher in natural sciences, and an SME-affiliated research institute needs at least 2 (at least 1 for a start-up-affiliated one). For industrial technical personnel, key industry companies in the manufacturing field must run a manufacturing or information processing business, and the construction, mining, fisheries and shipping fields have separate size criteria.

2. 2. Check the recommending authority

   Recommending authorities are set by industry: the Minister of Science and ICT for natural science research institutes, the head of the competent central administrative agency for key industry companies, and the chairperson of the Korea Defense Industry Association for defense companies. Key industry companies in the manufacturing field apply by factory or business site.

3. 3. Submit the selection application

   Submit the military service designated company selection application with the required documents to the recommending authority by June 30 every year. SME-affiliated research institutes may also submit by January 31. The recommending authority checks the corporate registration certificate electronically.

4. 4. Recommendation and selection

   The recommending authority prepares a recommendation list of only those meeting the criteria and submits it to the Commissioner by July 31 (by the end of February for January applications). The Commissioner makes the selection and notifies the recommending authority and the competent regional military manpower office.

5. 5. Allocated personnel and enlistment

   Even after selection, the number of personnel a company can receive is allocated separately by the Commissioner. The head of the company submits a pledge to honor the agreed working conditions to the regional military manpower office, and the mandatory service period after enlistment is 3 years for expert researchers and 2 years 10 months for industrial technical personnel (2 years 2 months for those enlisted from the supplementary reserve).

Required documents

• Military service designated company selection application (Enforcement Rule of the Military Service Act, Form No. 53 for research institutes and Form No. 53-2 for key industry and defense industry companies)
• Proof of degrees and employment of dedicated researchers (research institutes)
• Certificate of recognition as a corporate research institute (for SME-affiliated research institutes)
• Proof of industry such as factory registration and business registration (key industry companies)
• SME confirmation certificate (if applicable)
• Pledge to honor working conditions (after selection)

Fees

Generally in the hundreds of thousands of won in the industry · We quote after consultation depending on whether it is a research institute or a key industry company and whether corporate research institute recognition is prepared at the same time.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Military Service Act, Article 36
• Military Service Act, Article 37
• Military Service Act, Article 38
• Military Service Act, Article 39
• Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act, Article 72
• Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act, Article 73
• Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act, Article 74

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-05

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Missing June 30 means you cannot enter that year's selection process. If research institute recognition is needed, prepare it earlier.
• Even after selection, the selection may be cancelled if a reason such as closure arises, and personnel in service must move to another designated company.

Frequently asked questions