Military academies have decided to loosen their admission requirements or lower the cutoff score in their preliminary admission process for children of overseas Korean nationals, officials at the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.

The move comes as the military seeks to nurture soldiers with global mindsets and high proficiency in foreign languages, as the country has been expanding its overseas operations, such as in a peace-keeping mission in Lebanon.

The special admission program, designed for the children of overseas Korean nationals, was introduced in 2004. It has not been popular apparently due to tough competition and other reasons.

The Military Academy has altered its admission rule, allowing those who have studied for two years overseas in a high school and at least one year in a middle school to apply for the admission program.

The KMA previously allowed only those who had studied for at least three years in an overseas high school to apply to the program.

The Naval Academy has decided to increase the number of applicants who can pass through the preliminary admission process.

For the first-phase competition, the school has decided to pick four times as many male applicants as the admission quota and eight times more female applicants than the quota. Previously, it selected 3.5 times more male applicants and six times more female applicants for the first round.

The Air Force Academy has also increased the number of applicants who can pass the first-round competition.

It has increased the number to 14 times more than the quota. Previously, it picked nine times more applicants in the piloting section while it picked five times more applicants in the policy section.

“There are students who want to join the schools, but their way to the schools has been somewhat restricted. To give more opportunities, such measures have been crafted,” a ministry official said.

For the first round of the competition, applicants for the military academies take Korean, English and math exams. For the second, they take physical tests and have interviews.

For the third round, the academies consider the applicants’ scores on the state college entrance exam and high school transcripts. The special admission program will exempt applicants from the third round.

The military has expanded its overseas missions in recent years. According to the ministry, as of November, a total of 1,195 troops are dispatched in 17 regions across the world, including those in Lebanon, Haiti and Afghanistan.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)