South Korea’s government intends to review the military service exemptions it grants to athletes after the controversy surrounding South Korean footballers at the Asian Games. The row followed South Korea’s win over Japan in the football final, after which three players were criticised for celebrating the exemptions they had secured, including captain Lee Gi-hyuk.
Lee sparked outrage in his home country when he held up his gold medal and announced he was “not going to the military”. He later apologised for his remarks. Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young called Lee’s comments “utterly immature” and said he would review the exemption system.
South Korean men are required to undertake between 18 and 21 months of active military service before the age of 28. The government rewards Asian Games champions and Olympic medallists of any colour with a service exemption bar basic training, which lasts less than a month. The system has been in place for more than 50 years.
Speaking at a National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hearing, Choi said the system had contributed to helping outstanding artists and athletes maintain and develop their abilities. But he added that attitudes had changed, saying: “However, the values attached to fairness and public perceptions of military service have changed. I agree that the system should be comprehensively reviewed once again.” Choi also said the exemption system “will inevitably have to be scaled back”.
Cho Kye-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, questioned Choi on the issue and said the incident “left young people with a serious sense of unfairness”. He noted that the current system grants exemptions only to Olympic medallists finishing third or better and to Asian Games gold medallists, with more than 80% of those benefits concentrated in the Asian Games. Cho suggested that winning a world championship in any sport is harder than winning the Asian Games, yet world champions in other sports receive no service benefit. Of the 44 people who qualified for the benefit at the Asian Games, 36 were in football and baseball, he said.
South Korean athletes secured 39 golds, 43 silvers, and 68 bronze medals at this year’s Asian Games.