South Korea is grappling with an understaffed military. The officer recruitment crisis is not merely a personnel issue; it is a grave security concern that reflects a strategic vulnerability with direct implications for the ROK-U.S. alliance. Officer accession rates are declining. Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) retention is eroding. Frontline leadership billets remain underfilled. These trends are not cyclical. The manpower shortfall is a structural problem driven by multiple factors. Salary is part of the equation, but pay alone does not fully explain why fewer capable young Koreans are choosing to lead soldiers in uniform. The deeper issue lies in a combination of generational change and cultural shift. For decades, the Republic of Korea endured because its citizens clearly understood what was at stake in national security. Facing North Korea, South Koreans knew that war was not abstract. They understood that the threat was real. Military service carried meaning. Today, however, security complacency is spreading. Many young Koreans view military service as an inconvenience rather than