S.Korean military nearing completion of relaxed hair guidelines for draftees

Seoul, Oct 25 (IANS) The South Korean military is putting the finishing touches on a relaxed hair guideline for draftees, officials said on Monday, amid its stepped-up efforts to improve human rights at barracks.

Under the envisioned guideline, the military will unify separate grooming standards for draftees and senior officers -- a change that civic activists have advocated to remove "discrimination" between the two groups, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The current guideline allows senior officers to choose either a longer standard hairstyle or a short one, while draftees must keep their hair short.

Details vary among the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

After unifying the standards, enlisted troops will also be able to keep their hair longer, the officials said, noting the military is yet to finalise the guideline.

Discussions in the military over grooming standards gained traction after a government-civilian panel tasked with improving rights conditions in the military called for removing the difference between the standards for draftees and senior officers.