"I'll Join Korean Air"...900 Veteran Pilots Leave Air Force Over Past Decade

Most Are Fighter Pilots... Massive Shift to Civilian Airlines
Pay Gap and High-Intensity Duties Among Main Reasons

It has been revealed that nearly 900 experienced pilots have left the Air Force over the past decade. Most of them are believed to have transitioned to civilian airlines.

According to a report by Yonhap News on May 3, citing data submitted by the Air Force to the office of Kang Dae-sik, a member of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, a total of 896 experienced pilots voluntarily retired from 2017 through March of this year. Experienced pilots are classified as those with 8 to 17 years of service, considered core personnel capable of independent operations and training junior pilots.

By year, around 100 pilots left annually, but the number sharply dropped to just 7 in 2021, immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, before rising again. This year, 47 pilots departed from the Air Force as of March. By aircraft type, fighter pilots accounted for the largest portion at 730, followed by transport aircraft pilots at 148, and rotary-wing (helicopter) pilots at 18.

Pilot boarding the KF-16 fighter jet. Photo by Yonhap News

The Air Force operates a mandatory service period system that requires academy graduates to serve 15 years, while non-academy graduates serve 10 years (13 years for those commissioned after 2015). Nevertheless, pilots tend to retire as soon as they fulfill their mandatory service, resulting in an actual average service period of 15.2 years for academy graduates and 10.6 years for non-academy graduates.

The main reasons for pilot attrition are identified as the pay gap with civilian airlines, stress from high-risk and high-intensity duties, and the burden on family life caused by frequent personnel transfers. A survey conducted by the Air Force also cited these factors as the primary reasons for retirement.

In reality, most retired pilots have moved to civilian airlines. The largest number, 622 pilots (69.4%), joined Korean Air, followed by 147 pilots (16.4%) moving to Asiana Airlines, and 103 pilots (11.5%) joining low-cost carriers (LCCs).

Training a single experienced pilot requires an investment of at least 1 billion won. By aircraft type, it costs approximately 6.17 billion won for an F-35A pilot, 2.67 billion won for an F-15K pilot, and 1.84 billion won for a KF-16 pilot. When including operation and maintenance expenses, the total cost rises to several tens of billions of won. As a result, the continued outflow of pilots is seen as a significant national loss.

The Air Force maintains that the current pilot fill rate exceeds 90%, so there is no issue with combat readiness. An Air Force official stated, "We are implementing measures to prevent attrition, such as increasing extended service incentives, and we are continuously striving to improve working conditions for pilots."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.