The military will allow enlisted soldiers to rent and use mobile phones at post exchanges or outside military installations as part of efforts to help them better communicate with family and friends, welfare officials said Monday.

The Ministry of National Defense’s Welfare Agency said from Monday, soldiers who leave their bases for vacation can rent cellphones from PXs to use until they return to their units. All draftees were previously banned from using cellphones for security reasons.

The agency said the cellphones would help the military more easily locate soldiers in case of an emergency.

Inside military installations, conscripts will be able to rent and use smartphones only at post exchanges. They will be allowed to send text messages and make video calls. The agency plans to secure enough mobile phones by May 1 so that PXs in all units can lend phones to draftees.

The idea of allowing troops to use cellphones was suggested last year by a special panel dedicated to revamping the outmoded military culture. The panel was launched in August 2014 following a series of abuse cases at barracks that led to suicides and a shooting spree. A lack of communication with loved ones was cited as a potential cause of suicides in the military.

By Song Sang-ho  (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)