52% of Military-Exempt Athletes Were Asian Games Football and Baseball Players

[Anchor]

Amid the debate surrounding the military service exemption system, SBS conducted a comprehensive analysis of all 173 individuals granted exemptions in sports and the arts since 2022 to examine who actually benefits from the program. Among the 80 sports personnel, more than half were national football and baseball players who won gold medals at the Asian Games, revealing a severe imbalance skewed toward specific competitions and events.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has this exclusive report.

[Reporter]

According to Military Manpower Administration data obtained by SBS, 80 national team athletes were assigned as sports personnel under the military service exemption program between 2022 and August of this year.

There were 15 Olympic medalists, while Asian Games gold medalists numbered 65, accounting for 81% of the total.

Benefits were concentrated heavily in the Asian Games, where competition is relatively less intense.

Disparities among sports were also substantial.

Out of the 80 athletes, 23 were football players and 19 were baseball players, making up more than half.

Notably, all of them received their benefits through the Asian Games.

This year's Asian Games showed a similar pattern.

[Voice] Cho Gye-won / Member of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Democratic Party of Korea): "A total of 43 people are receiving benefits this time, and 36 of them are from football and baseball. Winning a world championship is much harder and more challenging than winning the Asian Games, yet world championship winners receive no benefits at all."

In the case of arts personnel receiving military exemptions, controversy continues that the system fails to align with its original purpose of "enhancing national prestige," as certain domestic competitions remain eligible despite a reduction in the total number of recognized competitions.

Among the 93 arts personnel who received exemptions over the past five years, 49 were first-place winners in domestic competitions, while 44 were first- or second-place finishers in international competitions.

Several amendments to the Military Service Act have been introduced in the National Assembly.

A bill proposed by Representative Joo Ho-young aims to remove the Asian Games from exemption eligibility and grant exemptions to artists and athletes with extraordinary merit only after recommendation by the National Assembly and approval by the Cabinet.

A bill proposed by Representative Cha Gyu-geun would require arts and sports personnel to pay contributions if their monthly income exceeds 5 million won.

The controversy over military exemptions for arts and sports personnel has persisted for more than a decade.

[Voice] SBS Nightline (October 2014): "Fifty-nine athletes are expected to receive military exemptions from this Asian Games. With many professional athletes included, calls are growing in the political arena to overhaul this system…."

As past reform efforts repeatedly fizzled out amid backlash from the arts and sports communities, voices are growing louder that this time must be different.

Video by Oh Young-chun and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Park Seon-soo | Design by Kim Ye-ji
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.