The military may find it difficult to recruit volunteer soldiers, since many applicants are unable to pass fitness tests for the program now being run on a trial basis, officials said.
The physical tests, held on Sunday at three different locations, were considered by the military to be relatively easy, officials said. But many applicants were unable to do even two horizontal bar pull-ups within one minute.
The pull-up was one of the three physical fitness tests that each applicant had to pass to become a volunteer soldier.
The other events were sit-ups and a 1,600m run, officials said.
The normal requirement for a conscript is four pull-ups in one minute, officials said.
A lieutenant colonel with the Ministry of National Defense (MND) lamented the results: "It is unimaginable that this generation is so weak," the unnamed officer said. "We really don't know when we can get enough personnel for the volunteer-soldier program."
The program, to be launched in September on an experimental basis for the first year, offers more than 600 positions to men between the ages of 19 and 26, officials said.
The positions are in an army missile battalion, an air force aircraft repair and maintenance group and a marine infantry battalion.
More than 600 applicants signed up to take the tests, but only 430 showed up, officials said.
The test also included a written examination. A volunteer had to pass the written and physical tests to be accepted into the program, officials said. Many of those who got high scores in written tests failed the physical fitness test, officials said.
Applicants for the volunteer marine corps infantry battalion fared better, with over 170 applicants being active-duty conscripts, they all passed the physical fitness, officials said.
MND officials said that they are happy to see active-duty personnel join the program since they have already received some training.
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