ED Military exemption and issue of fairness
Korea's Eom Ji-sung scores the team's first goal against Japan in the men's football final during the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Aichi, Japan, Saturday. Korea beat Japan 1-0. Reuters-Yonhap
53-year-old system needs review
When the Korean national football team beat Japan 1-0 to earn the gold medal at the recently concluded 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, it was a sweet victory set against a background of consistent rivalry between two strong Asian football nations.
It was the team's fourth consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games. The majority of the players are now eligible for alternative service in lieu of regular mandatory military service under the 53-year-old system that grants the privilege to Asian Games gold medalists and Olympic medalists.
For some of the Korean players, the victory sadly focused on the practical gain of being exempted from military service. "I'm not going to the military," football team captain Lee Gi-hyuk said in a post-game conference as he held up his gold medal. Teammate Yang Min-hyuk said in a postgame interview that the military service exemption was at the top of his mind during the Games, while winger Park Seung-soo posted a photo of himself in the locker room wearing a reservist cap, which is commonly worn by soldiers after being discharged. Technically, they will receive basic military training and undergo a certain number of hours of public service.
The Korean baseball team, which defeated Japan to secure its fifth consecutive Asian Games gold medal, also sparked outrage when its captain, Noh Si-hwan, said that the "process is irrelevant when the outcome is a gold medal." The players faced scrutiny as the Japanese team was comprised of players from corporate teams while the Korean team had professional players.
The athletes' cavalier comments raised some eyebrows. They have since apologized and taken down their problematic posts and photos. Their language may be a reflection of the parlance of young Koreans today, yet the beauty of sports is that the winners must always preserve a spirit of gratitude and humility, as well as respect for those who did not win.
When the military service exemption system was introduced in 1973, it was a policy borne out of a necessity to enhance Korea's international image. Countries with mandatory military service such as Taiwan retain a similar system.
The exemption system was also aimed at recognizing the time and work athletes put in when competing in international sporting events. Over time, more and more Korean players rose to the podium during the Olympics and earned gold medals at regional competitions, each time humbly expressing gratitude for the medal and the privileges they were due to receive.
Korea has become a leading Asian economy and an export powerhouse propelled by its semiconductor industry. The increasing global popularity of Korean culture has elevated the country's international image even further. Reports coming out of the Asian Games reflect the growing reach of the Korean language, which some athletes from other countries used when interacting with the Korean team. These developments have raised questions of whether the military exemption system still holds relevance.
Many were also quick to point out that even the members of K-pop group BTS have completed their mandatory military service. Any privilege bestowed on a certain group can draw public scrutiny, as many Koreans in their 20s and 30s feel they are being marginalized.
Lawmakers across the political spectrum are calling for a review of the system. Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, President Lee Jae Myung's first defense minister, said that "eliminating the exemption privilege should have been done by now." A chief spokesperson for the main opposition People Power Party, Park Seong-hoon said that "we should redesign the standard for giving exemption benefits while also addressing the need to adjust the scope and scale of the existing system." The Ministry of National Defense rightly expressed regret over some players' remarks and said that it has plans to ultimately reduce and rescind military service exemption benefits.
A bipartisan call to appropriately review the exemption privilege would be conducive to revamping a system that could deepen a sense of inequality among young Koreans who are already feeling marginalized.