South Korea’s culture minister, Chae Hwi-young, said on Wednesday that the military service exemption for athletes and artists should be narrowed. His comments came a day after the defence ministry said it was considering reducing or abolishing the scheme, following a backlash over remarks by members of the gold medal-winning men’s football team at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The episode has revived a long-running argument in South Korea over whether the system is fair to men who serve in full.
The team won the men’s football title in Japan on Saturday, beating the hosts 1-0, which made 20 of its 23 players eligible for supplementary military service. Criticism followed when Yang Min-hyeok said in an interview that securing the benefit had been his main aim, ahead of winning a medal or a trophy. His teammate Park Seung-soo added to the anger by posting a photo of himself in a cap usually worn by men who have completed their service.
All able-bodied South Korean men are required to serve between 18 and 21 months. Athletes and artists who win top prizes at government-designated competitions are, in effect, excused from that duty. Instead they complete three weeks of basic training and 544 hours of community service over 34 months.
Answering a lawmaker’s call for reform at a National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee meeting, Chae said there was “broad public consensus that the system should be fairer”. He said the government should reduce the scope of the exemptions while taking account of morale in the arts and sport and keeping the benefits the system brings. He also described the players’ remarks as “immature”. Chae said the arts and sports sectors would need their concerns taken into account as the government decides how far to go.
The details will be worked out with the defence ministry and the Military Manpower Administration. Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna told a regular briefing on Tuesday that plans to cut back or scrap the supplementary service would go into the basic outline for defence reforms. She said the ministry would weigh fairness among men liable for conscription, the shrinking pool of draft-eligible men and public opinion, and apologised for comments made by some people in the sports industry. She also said she hoped the sacrifices of serving soldiers and reservists would be respected.
