Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min [Yonhap]
Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min [Yonhap]

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min called for the abolition of military service exemptions for athletes and artists, amid a controversy over remarks made by Asian Games gold medalists about their exemptions.

Yoo wrote on his personal Facebook account Monday that soccer and baseball players who won gold medals at the Asian Games had made "flippant remarks" about their military exemptions, drawing widespread public backlash. "Particularly at a time when North Korea's land mine provocation in the DMZ has left our soldiers seriously injured and the entire nation outraged, the players' comments about their duty to serve are deeply disappointing," he wrote.

He added, however, that the issue should not be dismissed as individual slips of the tongue or reduced to criticism of the players themselves. "At its core, this is a question of principle and a question of the system governing military exemptions," he said.

Yoo said the current system raised fundamental fairness concerns. "When it comes to promoting national prestige, no young people have done more than BTS — yet BTS must serve while Asian Games gold medalists are exempt. Is that fair?" he wrote. He said the very idea of using military exemption as an incentive to promote sports and the arts was "outdated," and amounted to the state itself treating the sacred duty of military service as something to be avoided.

Yoo said questions of fairness would persist no matter where the line was drawn. "Even among gold medals, should the exemption cover the Olympics, the World Cup, the Asian Games — or all of them? If gold medals qualify, why not silver or bronze? In the arts, with countless domestic and international competitions, where does the exemption end? No matter how you draw the line, disputes over fairness will never go away," he said.

He said sports and the arts could be supported through other means. "Outstanding athletes and artists are often rewarded handsomely for their achievements. But using military service itself as a form of reward goes too far," he said.

Yoo concluded by citing Article 39 of the Constitution, which imposes a duty of national defense on all citizens. "In a country with universal conscription, fairness and equity in military service obligations are paramount," he said. "Rather than endlessly redrawing the line on who qualifies for exemptions and who does not, it is time to eliminate that line altogether. Abolishing the military service exemption system for sports and the arts is the right thing to do."


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