| (1) | An active duty serviceman shall serve in a military unit from the day he enters military service: Provided, That a person who obtains permission from the Minister of National Defense may reside outside a military unit. |
| (2) | The service period of an active duty soldier (including any staff sergeant appointed from among soldiers rather than volunteer soldiers; hereinafter the same shall apply) shall be as follows: |
| 2. | The Navy: Two years and two months: for the Marine Corps, two years; |
| 3. | The Air Force: Two years and four months. |
| (3) | Where an active duty serviceman is sentenced to imprisonment or imprisonment without prison labor, or detention, or is confined to a military detention facility, or walks away from his post in the military, the number of days during which the sentence is executed or he is confined to a military detention facility, or he walks away from his post, shall not be included in his period of active duty service. |
| (4) | In any of the following cases, the discharge of an active duty serviceman may be delayed: |
| 1. | Where it is necessary to take measures for discharge from military service after such active duty serviceman is released by a disposition not to institute prosecution or by a trial, etc. when his service period is terminated while such serviceman is under restraint due to a criminal case; |
| 2. | Where continuous hospital treatment is medically necessary due to a war wound, injury sustained while on duty or disease caught while on duty, and the person in question desires it. |
| (5) | The period of delay of discharge under paragraph (4) 2 shall be within six months from the expiration of one's mandatory service; where a doctor decides to suspend hospital treatment or the person in question desires to be discharged from the service again, he shall be issued a disposition of discharge from military service. |
| (6) | Matters necessary for the delay of discharge of active duty servicemen under paragraph (4) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 9754, Jun. 9, 2009]