[Anchor]

SBS analyzed all 173 individuals who were granted military service exemptions in the fields of sports and arts between 2022 and August this year. Among the 80 sports personnel, national team players in football and baseball who won gold medals at the Asian Games accounted for more than half, revealing a heavy concentration in specific competitions and events.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon reports.

[Reporter]

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

Olympic medalists numbered 15, while Asian Games gold medalists numbered 65, making up 81% of the total.

In effect, the benefits were concentrated on the Asian Games, where competition is relatively less intense.

Disparities among different sports were also significant.

Out of the 80 athletes, 23 were football players and 19 were baseball players, together accounting for a majority.

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

The situation was similar for this year's Asian Games.

[Cho Gye-won / National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Member (Democratic Party): "A total of 43 people received benefits this time, and 36 of them are in 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 who received military service exemptions, although the number of qualifying competitions has decreased, some domestic competitions are still recognized, fueling ongoing controversy that this contradicts the system's intended purpose of "enhancing national prestige."

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

Multiple amendments to the Military Service Act have been proposed in the National Assembly.

The bill proposed by Representative Joo Ho-young centers on excluding the Asian Games from exemption eligibility and granting exemptions only to artists and athletes with exceptional achievements through a recommendation by the National Assembly and a resolution by the Cabinet.

The bill proposed by Representative Cha Gyu-geun calls for arts and sports personnel to pay contributions if they earn more than 5 million won per month.

Controversy surrounding military service exemptions for arts and sports personnel has persisted for more than 10 years.

[SBS Nightline (October 2014): "In this Asian Games, 59 athletes are expected to receive military exemptions. With many professional athletes included, calls are growing in the political arena to overhaul this system..."]

However, previous reform efforts repeatedly fizzled out due to resistance from the arts and sports communities, and voices are growing that things must be different this time.

(Video by Oh Young-choon and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Park Seon-soo | Design by Kim Ye-ji)