'Even BTS served in military': Debate reignites over athletes' service exemption privilege
Korean men's football team players and coaching staff pose after winning the gold medal in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Saturday. Yonhap
Footballers' remarks spur calls to reconsider decades-old system
Debate has reignited over the military service exemption for athletes who win medals at international athletic competitions, after some players made remarks gloating about the privilege at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
While the issue has been around for more than a decade, calls for abolishing the system have grown stronger, especially in light of fairness issues with others who contributed to raising national prestige in other fields, including global stars like BTS, and the shrinking population in the age group eligible for military enlistment.
The controversy resurfaced after Korea beat host Japan 1-0 in the men's football final on Saturday, winning a fourth consecutive Asian Games title. Afterward, some players brought up the military service exemption in interviews.
"I don't think the medal or the trophy mattered at all. The real reward for us is the military exemption, so I think we played with only that in mind," said Yang Min-hyeok, a 20-year-old winger.
Lee Gi-hyuk, a 26-year-old defender, smiled as he held up his gold medal to reporters and said, "I'm not going to the military." Park Seung-soo, a 19-year-old winger, posted a locker room photo of himself in a reservist cap on social media right after the win.
All able-bodied Korean men must serve 18 to 21 months in the military depending on their branch. The government grants the exemption privilege to Asian Games gold medalists and all Olympic medalists, who are instead required to complete just weeks of basic training. They then need to complete 544 hours of community service over 34 months.
The Asian Games have long been a major route for top Korean professional players to receive the benefit. Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae earned it with gold medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, while Lee Kang-in did so at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.
As criticism grew, Yang, Lee and Park apologized on social media. But the fallout soon reached politics and the public, with calls to reconsider the benefit granted to winners of international athletic competitions in the name of national prestige.
Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party said national prestige alone is no longer a persuasive rationale, noting that even BTS, which she said has done more than anyone to raise Korea's global profile, served in the military.
BTS' RM, left, and V salute after being discharged from their military service in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, June 10, 2025. Yonhap
"When there were few ways to introduce Korea to the world, a single medal amounted to national promotion. That certainly meant something then, but times are different now," Na wrote on Facebook. "The world knows Korea through K-pop, K-dramas, semiconductors, smartphones and cars."
Many citizens voiced similar criticism of the exemption benefit. Hwang In-kwan, 78, said athletes who excel in international competitions should serve in the military to compensate for shrinking troop numbers, if they can serve for a short period of time that would not damage their skills.
The country's active-duty military, which numbered about 560,000 in 2019, fell to about 450,000 last year and is projected to drop below 350,000 by 2040, driven by the total fertility rate reaching a low of 0.8 in 2025.
"Military service is the duty of Korean citizens, including athletes," Hwang said.
Ku Do-kyun, 33, said the Asian Games seem to have become a shortcut for some Korean players to win military service exemptions.
"In football and baseball alike, players seem to work hard at the Asian Games only for their own military exemptions. It's as if they wouldn't show up without one," Ku said. "It seems baseball players do not try their best at the World Baseball Classic but go all out at the Asian Games, even scolding one another over mistakes. Every time I see that, I think the military exemption should be abolished."
The debate over the system has continued for years. In 2018, the Korean baseball team won gold at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games but drew criticism that some players were picked only to earn the benefits.
But in 2019, the government decided to keep the system, saying only about 45 people a year qualify, so reducing that number would do little to increase military manpower.