[Anchor]
The system exempting Asian Games gold medalists from mandatory military service has been in place for 36 years. As times have changed, the criteria for promoting national prestige have shifted, and even global stars like BTS have fulfilled their military duties. Voices calling for a change to the system have persisted, yet there has been no change.
Reporter Hong Seok-jun looks into the reasons why.
[Reporter]
The military service exception system was first introduced in the 1970s to promote national prestige and foster arts and sports specialists.
Initially granting benefits for all medals, the Asian Games changed in 1990 to recognize only gold medalists, and the framework has been maintained largely unchanged ever since.
Over the past 36 years, arguments that the system should be revised to fit changing times have been steadily raised. In particular, intense controversy flared up right after the 2018 Jakarta Games, with criticisms that professional baseball players easily defeated clearly inferior teams to receive benefits.
At the time, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee considered pushing for the introduction of a so-called mileage-based military service exception system, where points would be accumulated based on performance in various international competitions.
[Lee Kee-heung / Former President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (2018) : In fact, world championships are an even bigger event than the Asian Games. However, until now, there have been no such benefits for world championships. We will go through a public discussion process to gather opinions on (the mileage system) and consult with the government….]
However, it ultimately did not lead to change.
The biggest reason is that sports organizations failed to reach a consensus on specific implementation plans for alternatives such as the mileage-based exception system.
When introducing a mileage system, weights must be assigned to each sport and competition, but the popularity of sports, the status of competitions, and the difficulty of winning medals vary widely, leading to sharp conflicts of interest among sports organizations and making it impossible to find common ground.
In addition, the Military Manpower Administration reportedly opposed the move, as a mileage system would likely increase the number of exception cases.
Amidst this background, as comparisons are recently being drawn with the cases of pop culture stars, arguments for abolishing the military service exceptions altogether are gaining traction.
Voices are growing louder asking whether it is right to exempt Asian Games gold medalists from military service at a time when global K-pop stars like BTS—who have contributed far more to promoting national prestige than ordinary athletes—are fulfilling their military duties normally.
Regarding the current military service exception system, which has the potential to reignite controversy at any time, attention is focused on whether a social consensus can finally be reached this time on how to measure the promotion of national prestige and to what extent exceptions should be recognized before the duty of military service.
(Video by: Choi Dae-woong | Video Editing by: Lee Seung-jin | Video Source: X (formerly Twitter))
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