[Anchor]

The system that exempts Asian Games gold medalists from mandatory military service has been in place for 36 years. While voices calling for the system to be revised to fit the times have persisted, no changes have been made.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun examines the reasons why.

[Reporter]

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

Initially offering benefits for all medals, the Asian Games changed to recognizing only gold medalists in 1990 and has maintained this broad framework without change ever since.

Over the past 36 years, arguments that the system should be reformed to match changing times have been steadily raised. In particular, fierce controversy erupted right after the 2018 Jakarta Games, with criticisms that professional baseball players easily defeated far weaker teams to receive the 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 are accumulated based on results from various international competitions.

[Lee Kee-heung / Former President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (2018): In fact, the World Championships are an even bigger event than the Asian Games. Yet, until now, there have been no such benefits for the World Championships. Through a process of public debate [on the mileage system], gathering public opinion, and consulting with the government....]

However, this ultimately failed to lead to actual changes.

The biggest reason is that sports governing bodies failed to reach a consensus on specific implementation plans for alternatives, such as the mileage-based exception system.

Adopting a mileage system requires assigning weight to each sport and competition. However, because the popularity of sports, the status of competitions, and the difficulty of winning medals vary wildly, and the interests of each sport sharply conflict, they have been unable to find common ground.

In addition, the Military Manpower Administration reportedly opposed the plan, as a mileage system would likely increase the number of exception cases.

Amidst this background, comparisons with pop culture stars have recently given momentum to the argument that the military service exceptions should be abolished altogether.

As world-class K-pop stars like BTS, who have arguably contributed far more to elevating national prestige than most athletes, fulfill their military service normally, questions are growing louder over whether it is right to exempt Asian Games gold medalists from military service.

Attention is now focused on whether a social consensus can finally be reached this time regarding how to measure the elevation of national prestige and how far exceptions should be permitted in the face of military service duties—issues that carry the potential to reignite controversy at any time.

(Video by: Choi Dae-woong | Video Editing by: Lee Seung-jin | Source: X [formerly Twitter])