Military Manpower Administration and Overseas Koreans Agency launch reissuance service at overseas missions
Applicants can visit embassy or consulate general without a proxy — postal delivery also available
![BTS members RM and V greet attendees at a discharge ceremony held at Sinbuk-eup Sports Park in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, after completing their mandatory active-duty service. This image is not directly related to the article. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/10/29/news-p.v1.20250610.b4a25af3aba9413090d084f66c720fe9_P1.jpg)
Overseas Koreans can now have their military discharge certificates reissued directly at a nearby embassy or consulate general, without designating a proxy in South Korea.
The Military Manpower Administration and the Overseas Koreans Agency announced Thursday that they are expanding civil affairs services to allow overseas Koreans to apply for discharge certificate reissuance through nearby overseas diplomatic missions.
Until now, overseas missions could only issue military service records, with no system in place to reissue discharge certificates directly. Koreans living abroad who lost or damaged their discharge certificates had to designate a proxy in South Korea to apply on their behalf.
A discharge certificate is a card-format document issued by the Military Manpower Administration to honor veterans and assist them with practical needs. It is issued in both Korean and English for ease of use.
The Military Manpower Administration revised the relevant legal framework to support the new service and built a new system linked to the Overseas Koreans Agency's consular affairs platform, G4K. When an overseas Korean applies for a discharge certificate reissuance at an overseas mission, the request will be processed after verification by the relevant regional military manpower office.
At some overseas missions, applicants can also receive their discharge certificate by mail, as is already available for military service records.
"This system improvement will make it easier for overseas Koreans who had difficulty with online identity verification to get their discharge certificates reissued," a Military Manpower Administration official said. "We will continue to identify and improve military administration services to better meet the needs of Koreans living abroad."
An Overseas Koreans Agency official called the change "a meaningful step toward improving the practical convenience of overseas Koreans' civil affairs needs," and said the agency would work with related ministries to expand tailored administrative services for the diaspora community.
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