People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo holds a press conference. [Lee Sang-sub]
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo holds a press conference. [Lee Sang-sub]

People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo has called for a review of the military service exemption granted to Asian Games athletes, criticizing remarks made by some players on South Korea's men's football team after the country won its fourth consecutive gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Ahn posted a message Sunday on his Facebook page under the title: "National football team players bragging about not going to the military — is the army a place to be despised? Are soldiers who lost their limbs for the country fools?"

In the post, Ahn noted that South Korea won the football gold medal Saturday and said the public had cheered the team on despite its poor showing at the World Cup.

He then criticized comments made by some players after the match. He said one player declared that "the gold medal and the trophy don't matter — I only had my eyes on the military exemption," and boasted that the team had played "The Letter of a Private" during training sessions.

Ahn said another player posed for a photo in a discharge cap in the locker room, and that even the team captain bragged in an official interview about not having to serve in the military, openly mocking the obligation.

"Is the military a place to be despised? Somewhere people cannot go? Are the countless young men who enlist every year all fools?" he wrote, adding that he was "deeply appalled" by the mindset of players wearing the national team badge.

Ahn also attached a screenshot of a news article headlined: "The immature 19-year-old who played just 16 minutes and put on a discharge cap, the star who 'only had eyes on the exemption' — the 'chosen ones' who threw cold water on South Korea's four-peat."

Regarding a separate incident, Ahn noted that a soldier had lost his foot to a North Korean land mine on the western front a few days earlier while searching a dangerous area for the country. "That is what it means to serve the nation," he wrote, arguing that the players had completely forgotten the consideration shown by a country and its people who respect national service — all for the sake of their "exemption goal."

He then formally proposed a review of the Asian Games military exemption system.

"The Asian Games military exemption should now be reconsidered," Ahn said, noting that many athletes win gold without one. "Granting a military exemption to national team players who disgrace the country and treat the military with contempt is utterly unacceptable," he said.

Meanwhile, South Korea's men's football team defeated Japan 1-0 in the final Saturday.

The victory marked the first time in history that South Korea had won four consecutive gold medals in men's football at the Asian Games. The team had previously claimed the title at the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou games.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com