[Anchor]
As reported earlier, beneficiaries of alternative military service exemptions are required to complete 544 hours of public service targeting socially vulnerable groups or youth. However, an investigation revealed that over the past four years, 110 out of 173 beneficiaries received warnings, and seven had their exemption qualifications revoked altogether.
Reporter Ha Jeong-yeon has this exclusive report.
[Reporter]
A total of 19 players on the national baseball team qualified for military service exemptions after winning gold medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Among them, three players were found to have received warnings for failing to complete their quarterly public service hours, citing reasons such as conditioning the day before professional games.
They are not the only ones.
According to Military Manpower Administration data obtained by SBS, a total of 173 individuals have been enrolled as art and sports personnel under military service exemption benefits over the past four years.
After completing basic military training, they must perform at least 24 hours of public service per quarter, totaling 544 hours over 34 months.
These activities include arts and sports programs for socially vulnerable groups, as well as mentoring and educational activities for children and youth.
However, over the past four years, as many as 110 individuals failed to fulfill these required hours and received warnings for violating public service completion standards.
There were two cases where individuals submitted false performance records, and seven cases where qualifications were completely revoked after failing to fulfill the requirements within one year despite receiving an extension.
Failing to meet quarterly standards results in a warning, and unfulfilled public service hours are doubled. If violations occur four times, a criminal complaint is filed, and if sentenced, the remaining period must be served on active duty or as a social service agent.
Despite these punitive regulations, the problem is that violations are not decreasing.
[Min Hong-chul / Member of the National Assembly Defense Committee (Democratic Party): "Times have changed now. The criteria for enhancing national prestige are very vague. In principle, I believe the system should be abolished or significantly scaled back."]
As many as 162 individuals qualified for military service exemptions through the past three Asian Games alone, and calls to adjust the qualification standards are also growing.
(Video by Shin Jin-soo, Joo Yong-jin, Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Park Seon-soo | Design by Choi Jae-young, Lee Ga-jin)
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