Bill proposed to end blanket military service exemption for Asian Games champions
Summary
The National Assembly proposed a bill in Seoul to end automatic military service exemptions for Asian Games gold medalists. Submitted by Rep. Joo Ho-young and nine People Power Party lawmakers, the bill would retain exemptions for Olympic medalists and add a Cabinet-approved route for exceptional contributions to Korea’s international standing. The proposal followed criticism of Korean athletes’ comments at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games, while Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said the benefit should ultimately be abolished.
Key Facts
- The bill would remove Asian Games gold medals as a standalone qualification for alternative military service under the arts and sports personnel program.
- The proposal would allow Cabinet-approved eligibility for people whose achievements in arts or sports significantly enhanced Korea’s international standing.
- The current program permits eligible athletes to fulfill military obligations by continuing their sporting careers instead of serving on active duty.
- The proposal cited Korea’s baseball gold medal despite an earlier loss to a Japanese squad containing corporate amateur players as an example of differing competition standards.
- Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said during a parliamentary audit on Wednesday that the ministry aims to gradually scale back and ultimately abolish the benefit program.
Lee Gi-hyuk of Korea’s under-23 football team speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport, Oct. 4, after returning from the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Newsis
A bill has been proposed in the National Assembly to end the automatic military service exemption for Asian Games gold medalists, following controversy sparked by Korean participants in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games.
The bill, submitted by Rep. Joo Ho-young and nine other lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party, seeks to remove Asian Games gold medals as a standalone qualification for alternative military service under the arts and sports personnel program.
The program, under the Military Service Act, allows eligible athletes to fulfill their military obligations by continuing their sporting careers rather than serving on active duty. Olympic medalists and Asian Games gold medalists currently qualify.
The bill would retain eligibility for Olympic medalists. It would also create a route for people recognized as having significantly enhanced the country’s international standing through achievements in arts or sports to qualify with Cabinet approval.
“In some Asian Games sports, the composition of teams and standards of competition vary considerably. Yet gold medalists uniformly qualify for the arts and sports personnel program, without separate consideration of the scale of the competition or the level of competition involved,” the proposal said. “This has prompted persistent criticism that military service benefits have overshadowed the program’s original purpose of enhancing national prestige, with eligibility for such benefits becoming a major focus in some sports.”
They cited Korea’s baseball team, which won gold despite losing earlier to a Japanese squad that included players from corporate amateur teams.
The public criticism against the benefits was further fueled by the Korean football team that beat Japan to secure its fourth consecutive Asian Games title.
After the win, Lee Gi-hyuk said in a televised interview, “I’m not going to the military.” Yang Min-hyeok said that avoiding military duty, rather than winning a medal or trophy, had been his biggest motivation. Park Seung-soo posted a photo of himself in the locker room wearing a “military discharge cap.”
Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul also said during a parliamentary audit on Wednesday that the ministry’s goal was to “gradually scale back and ultimately abolish” the benefit program.
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