The government seeks to establish public high schools for children of military families in an effort to improve their living and education conditions, the defense ministry said Monday.

The defense and education ministries were set to sign a memorandum of understanding later in the day to make joint efforts to designate existing high schools as those catering for military families and start admissions in 2026.

The move seeks to ensure a stable education environment for such families, who are frequently on the move due to service deployments across the country.

Nearly 80 percent of professional service members move at least 10 times during their service period, while 25 percent of them live separately from their families due to their children's education, according to the defense ministry.

The schools will be modeled after Hanmin High School, a private institution in the border city of Paju, 37 kilometers north of Seoul, established for military children -- the only such school in the country.

The move comes as the ministry seeks to make more efforts to improve the living and working conditions of service members as part of a five-year plan set to run through 2027. (Yonhap)