[Reexamination of military service special provisions] ③ “It depends on the player’s career” · “New standards are needed”… various voices

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Lim Soon-hyun, Choi Song-ah, Lee Tae-su, and Oh Myeong-eon = After the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, discussions on improving the special military service system for arts and sports personnel began in earnest following the words and actions of some gold medalists, and various opinions are emerging in the sports and culture and arts circles.

In the sports world, especially in the case of unpopular sports, there is a view that it is a problem that can affect the careers of athletes, and there are voices saying that institutional change has become an unstoppable trend and that we must move in a direction that pursues fairness and stability in athletes' lives at the same time.

An amateur sports leader expressed concern about the abolition of military service benefits, saying, "For athletes in unpopular sports who do not have a Sangmu (Armed Forces Athletic Corps) team, military service can be a severance of the athlete's life. It is a fatal blow as they are barely able to train and compete, which is their main job, for a year and a half."

Leader Lee said, "I hope that players' careers will be taken into consideration at least in a way that guarantees their activities for a certain period of time and allows them to fulfill their military service obligations through physical education or community service after retirement."

Military service benefits for athletes have been based on '3rd place or higher in the Olympics' and '1st place in the Asian Games' since 1990. The issue of fairness continued in baseball and soccer, where a large number of professional athletes participated in the Asian Games and won consecutive championships, and was sparked by the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

Another sports leader also pointed out, “For athletes in sports without professional leagues, military service is not just a matter of taking a few years off from sports, but a real problem that could end the athlete’s career.”

He also emphasized, "Inappropriate words and actions can certainly be criticized, but individual words and actions should not be generalized to the perception of all players. We must be wary of emotional evaluations of them becoming the basis for deciding whether the system itself should exist or not."

He added, "It is a reality that many non-professional sports have no choice but to use military service exemption as an incentive to develop players," and added, "I hope that discussions will take place on the direction of the system that takes into account equity with young people who fulfill military service obligations, career interruption issues experienced by sports talent, and the public value pursued by our society."

An amateur athlete who has not yet resolved the military service issue sighed, saying, "It feels even more miserable that this issue is focused on a specific sport, especially professional athletes. It is a different world for athletes in sports who are neither professional nor have a managing director."

He appealed, “Many athletes who do not have a training ground to train to their heart’s content and who train on a tight budget must not be shaken by a single word to compensate for their hard work by becoming a national team member once every four years and working hard for themselves and the future of their sport.”

A current athlete who received military service benefits through the past Asian Games said, "Personally, if I had participated in the Asian Games for the purpose of receiving military service benefits, I would not have been able to demonstrate my skills. I have thought about the big process of being a factor in continuing to do well in sports, developing my skills further, playing in the Olympics, and contributing to the development of sports, but it is frustrating to think that one part of that could disappear."

As times and circumstances surrounding military service have changed, there are many voices calling for changes in systems and standards.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young said in a recent audit of government affairs, "It seems that the concept of military service and the value of fairness have changed a lot depending on the times. Since the issue is being raised nationally, we will collect opinions from the sports and arts communities and devise comprehensive measures in consultation with the Ministry of National Defense and the Military Manpower Administration."

An athlete from the national team who completed military service before winning a medal at an international competition said, "Military service benefits are a motivator for athletes who have not been able to resolve their military service, but the Asian Games should not become something of a 'cheat key.' Because of such cases, I felt the need for improvement and expected that there would be a change someday, but this incident seems to have been a catalyst."

He said, "In terms of the intensity of competition, I feel that the World Championships for each event are more difficult than the Asian Games," and suggested, "I think it would be a good idea to introduce something like a 'point system' centered on the Olympics and World Championships to provide benefits to athletes who have earned legitimate points."

An official from one sports organization said, based on his personal opinion, "To prevent controversial cases, I think it would be right to exclude the Asian Games from special treatment or allow only amateur athletes to participate." He added, "In order to maintain military service benefits, in the case of team competitions, it seems necessary to come up with an alternative, such as varying the participation rate or record, etc. depending on contribution."

In the culture and arts world, only some art genres, such as classical music, Korean traditional music, and dance, have been granted special military service exemption through the transfer of art personnel if certain requirements are met, leading to controversy over fairness between genres.

▲ Among the second place or higher winners in an international art contest determined by the Commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, within two of them in order of prize-winning performance ▲ Those who have the highest winning score among the first place winners in a domestic art contest (only applicable to fields without international competitions such as Korean traditional music) determined by the Commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration ▲ Those who have completed national intangible cultural heritage training for at least 5 years are eligible.

However, it has been pointed out as a problem that the majority of art personnel who received military service exemption were winners of competitions held in Korea.

Seong Seong-sook, a professor at Hanyejong Dance Institute, said, "Even in the case of dance competitions, they are called international competitions, but in competitions held domestically, there are cases where 80 to 90% of Korean participants are Korean." He added, "If we gradually abolish the artistic personnel system in line with the changing times and create a military dance troupe just as there is a Korean traditional music troupe in the military, we can maintain our skills while engaging in artistic activities even while serving."

The fact that pop culture artists who promote national prestige, such as the group BTS, cannot receive benefits because 'pop culture' is not included as a specialty in the field of art was also a topic of controversy over fairness.

In order to minimize this controversy, some suggested that it is necessary to come up with improvement measures, such as enlisting everyone in the cultural and sports fields as a rule, but providing some benefits based on merit.

Kim Jeong-seop, a professor at the Department of Culture, Industry and Arts at Sungshin Women's University, suggested, "First of all, everyone should serve in the military, but the Military Manpower Administration can collect opinions from related ministries such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and provide differential service period reduction benefits of 1 to 9 months depending on the contribution to enhancing national prestige to artists and athletes with meritorious achievements. This will reduce the controversy over fairness between the general public, arts and sports personnel, and art genres."