Over the past five years, more than 8 out of 10 athletes who received military service exemptions as sports personnel were Asian Games gold medalists.
It was also found that 45 percent of these privileged sports personnel received warnings for violating service regulations.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Cho Eun-hee, a total of 80 people have been incorporated as military-exempt sports personnel from 2022 to August of this year.
Among them, 65 athletes received exemptions through gold medals at the Asian Games, accounting for 81.3 percent of the total.
Athletes who received exemptions through Olympic medals numbered 15.
Under the current system, winning a bronze medal or higher at the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games allows athletes to be incorporated as arts and sports personnel, serving as an alternative to active-duty military service.
After completing basic military training, they must work in their specialized fields for 34 months and finish 544 hours of community service to be recognized as having fulfilled their military obligations.
However, controversy arose when some national football team players emphasized military benefits ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, intensifying the debate over whether it is appropriate to grant military exemptions for Asian Games gold medals.
In particular, criticism has emerged that the level of competition and the fairness of military exemptions should be re-examined, as South Korea fielded large numbers of professional players in football and baseball, whereas Japan sent primarily under-21 players for football and corporate team players for baseball.
Issues regarding service management were also uncovered.
Out of the 80 sports personnel granted military exemptions since 2022, 36 received warnings for violating service regulations.
This accounts for 45 percent of the total.
Among them, 21 were penalized with warnings for unauthorized concurrent employment, such as signing commercial or sponsorship contracts without prior approval.
Of those 21, 17 were Asian Games gold medalists.
Critics point out that even when unauthorized concurrent employment is caught, the penalty for sports personnel is merely an extension of their service period by 5 days, making the sanctions excessively lenient.
The military service exemption system was introduced in 1973 with the aim of promoting national prestige.
However, amid a shrinking pool of military conscription resources, voices are growing louder that the policy of granting benefits exclusively to medalists in international competitions within specific fields should be re-evaluated.
The Ministry of National Defense has also stated that it plans to pursue the reduction and abolition of supplemental service personnel, including arts and sports agents.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Chang Yu-jin | Graphics by Lee Jung-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
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