The Air Force suffers a shortage of senior fighter pilots since many of them retire to find jobs with civilian airlines. The number of pilots likely to be promoted to lieutenant colonel next year is only about half the minimum number necessary to maintain combat readiness.

It costs a whopping W10.9 billion (US$1=W1,174) to train one KF-16 fighter pilot.

According to data Grand National Party lawmaker Kim Jang-soo received from the Air Force on Tuesday, 29 of 32 Air Force majors will be promoted to lieutenant colonel next year, while the other three failed the promotion screening due to past misdemeanors.

But the Air Force said it needs to promote at least 55 pilots to lieutenant colonel to maintain combat readiness. Even though almost all of the candidates passed, it is still short of 26 veteran pilots who would lead fighter squadrons into aerial combat.

Many veteran pilots are retiring early to find high-paying jobs with civilian airlines. Over the last five years, an average of 115 Air Force pilots a year retired as soon as they completed the required minimum service period of 13 years. Most of them then went to work for civilian airlines.

The minimum period was extended to 15 years last year.

The Air Force commissions about 150 new pilot officers every year. But they are outnumbered by the average of 162 pilots per year who retired in the last five years, including those who completed their full service.