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| BTS members pose at an online press event after topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their latest single "Dynamite," Wednesday. Courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are working to revise the Military Service Act in order to allow outstanding pop culture artists, who boost the country's status on the world stage, to postpone their enlistment.
The move comes after boy-band BTS became the first K-pop act to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their latest single "Dynamite," Tuesday.
DPK lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi said Thursday he was proposing a bill to revise the act to allow artists, who have elevated Korea's prestige at the international level, to defer their service.
Citing that BTS has generated value of 5.6 trillion won ($4.7 billion), the lawmaker argued that K-pop artists recommended by the culture minister should be permitted to postpone their enlistment.
"Deferring military service is a totally different issue from granting exemptions," Jeon said in a news release. "We need to provide the option to postpone enlistment for those in other fields whose careers flourish in their 20s."
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it has begun discussions with related ministries to revise the act that would work favorably toward artists, who have made a significant contribution to the country's cultural and economic growth.
"BTS and Parasite have made enormous contributions to the country, both in terms of cultural and economic benefits. We are currently finalizing details, and defining criteria that will allow BTS members to delay their enlistment until the age of 30. We plan to revise the law by the end of this year," Culture Minister Park Yang-woo told The Korea Times, Thursday. "However, we have no plans to grant exemptions."
Under the current law, all able-bodied men between ages 18 to 28 are required to join the armed forces and serve for almost two years. However, Olympic medalists, Asian Games gold medalists and international award-winning classical musicians are exempted from serving in the military for elevating the country's profile globally.
Independent lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said military exemption should not be limited to winners of sports or music competitions, adding that BTS members are more than qualified to be allowed exemptions.
"BTS represents Korea's leading soft power. The group is doing a better job than 1,000 diplomats combined. We need to introduce an independent review committee to review which artists are qualified to receive military waivers," Yoon said in a news release.
Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of BTS, said the group's eldest member Jin, 28, will be able to delay his enlistment until the end of 2021 as he is currently enrolled in a graduate school program.
With the exception of the youngest member, Jungkook, 23, all BTS members are currently enrolled in MBA programs at Hanyang Cyber University as being a graduate school student allows a man to postpone his enlistment in the military until he is 29 years old.
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