Unchanged For 36 Years: Is the Military Service Exemption Facing a Push for Abolition?

[Anchor]

The system that exempts Asian Games gold medalists from mandatory military service has been in place for 36 years. Calls to reform the system to reflect changing times have persisted, yet no changes have been made.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun looks into the reasons behind this.

[Reporter]

The military service exemption system was first introduced in the 1970s to promote national prestige and foster arts and sports specialists.

While the Asian Games initially offered benefits for all medalists, the rule was changed in 1990 to recognize only gold medalists, a framework that has remained 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 erupted right after the 2018 Jakarta Games amid criticism that professional baseball players received benefits by easily defeating much weaker teams.

At the time, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee considered pushing for the introduction of a so-called mileage-based military service exemption system, which would accumulate points 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. Yet, until now, there have been no such benefits for world championships. Through a public debate process on (the mileage system) to gather public opinion and consult with the government...]

However, this ultimately failed to lead to actual changes.

The primary reason is that sports federations failed to reach a consensus on specific implementation plans for alternatives such as the mileage-based exemption system.

Introducing a mileage system requires assigning weight values to each sport and competition. However, because the popularity of sports, the prestige of competitions, and the difficulty of winning medals vary wildly, and sports-specific interests sharply collide, finding common ground has proven impossible.

In addition, the Military Manpower Administration reportedly opposed the system due to concerns that a mileage system would likely increase the number of exemption cases.

Amidst this background, comparisons with pop culture stars have recently given traction to arguments for abolishing military exemptions altogether.

As global K-pop stars like BTS—who have contributed far more to promoting national prestige than the average athlete—fulfill their mandatory military service normally, voices questioning whether it is fair to exempt Asian Games gold medalists from military service are growing louder.

Attention is now focused on whether a social consensus can finally be reached this time regarding how to measure the promotion of national prestige and how far exemptions should be permitted in the face of mandatory military service under the current system, which harbors the potential to reignite controversy at any time.

(Video by Choi Dae-woong | Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin | Source: X, formerly Twitter)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.