Hong So-young, commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, stated today (October 12) regarding the inappropriate remarks and behavior by athletes competing in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games concerning the military service exemption system, "As commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, I find it deeply unfortunate and regrettable."

Commissioner Hong made the remarks in response to a question from Representative Kim Byung-joo of the Democratic Party of Korea during a parliamentary audit of the Military Manpower Administration conducted by the National Assembly's National Defense Committee at the agency's headquarters in the Government Complex Daejeon.

Commissioner Hong added, "As head of the Military Manpower Administration, I take heavily the sense of deprivation that our young people fulfilling their military service must have felt, as well as the public's voices demanding system improvements."

When asked for her opinion on the need to overhaul the military service exemption system, which includes arts and sports personnel, Commissioner Hong replied, "I share the same view as the Ministry of National Defense."

Earlier, the Ministry of National Defense expressed its stance to phase down the system gradually and abolish it in the long term.

(Photo: Yonhap News)