[SBS Star] Yim Siwan Under Fire for Taking Twice as Many Days off in the Military than Other Soldiers

The public is debating over whether if actor Yim Siwan received preferential treatment in the military or not.

On June 17, it was reported that Yim Siwan had taken about twice many days off than other soldiers during his military service.

The report stated Yim Siwan had taken a total of 123 days off while in the military, which is about 20% of the length of his service.

It said those 123 days were made of 28 days of annual leave, 18 days of reward leave, 51 days of special leave in appreciation of his service, 14 days of compensation leave, and 12 days of emergency sick leave.

Since the majority of soldiers take about 59 days of vacation on average (2018), it meant Yim Siwan had about 2.08 times more days off than them. After the report was published, some people criticized the Military Manpower Administration and/or the actor for having more vacation days simply because he was a celebrity.

A couple of hours later, Yim Siwan's management agency Plum Actors released a statement clarifying this issue.

The agency wrote, "After Yim Siwan received the basic military training, he was appointed as an instructor for his excellence. He was also selected as a special forces soldier after showing his excellence in his military base. Not only that, he had donated all his monthly salary from the military to an elementary school nearby where he volunteered to teach math to students as well. He was a hard-working and excellent soldier." They continued, "Yim Siwan received 123 days of vacation in the military for reasons such as annual leaves, special leaves for participating in events for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Armed Forces Day, reward leaves as a special forces soldier with excellent performance. Due to the nature of a position as an instructor, who has to work extra five weekends, additional 40 vacation days were given to him. We have confirmed that about 100 vacation days are given to an instructor with excellence in his base."

They added, "While it is true that Yim Siwan received more days off than most other soldiers, he has not received any special treatment beyond what the military allowed him." (Lee Narin, Credit= Yonhap News Agency) 

(SBS Star)