Park Seung-su of the South Korean men's football team poses for a photo wearing a military discharge cap immediately after winning the Asian Games gold medal. [Park Seung-su's social media]
Park Seung-su of the South Korean men's football team poses for a photo wearing a military discharge cap immediately after winning the Asian Games gold medal. [Park Seung-su's social media]

A public petition calling for the abolition of military service exemptions for athletes and entertainers has been filed with the National Assembly, prompted by the conduct of some players who won gold in men's football at the Asian Games.

The petition, titled "Petition for the abolition of the military service exemption system for entertainers and athletes," was posted Monday on the National Assembly's online public petition platform.

The petitioner, identified only as A, said in the petition's statement of purpose that South Korea had granted military exemptions to artists and athletes who raised the country's profile during its developing-nation era, and acknowledged that the policy had served as a strong incentive for those who achieved strong results at prestigious competitions such as the Olympics and the Asian Games.

However, A said, "controversies over fairness and allegations of preferential treatment have never ceased, as only a narrow set of sports and fields have benefited."

A then said South Korea had risen to become a global economic and military power and hallyu had swept the world. "Now that everything prefixed with the letter 'K' evokes South Korea, it is increasingly difficult to justify granting military exemptions to winners of specific competitions simply on the grounds that they have elevated the country's standing," A said.

A went on to say: "If elevating national prestige is the criterion, can anyone deny that young people like BTS were more deserving than Asian Games winners whom no one in the Western world knows or pays attention to?"

A said the anger became impossible to contain after seeing a social media post in which a player, inside the locker room after winning the Asian Games football gold medal, posed wearing a military discharge cap and boasted about his exemption from military service.

"Seeing that discharge cap, I felt that the youth we gave as soldiers of the Republic of Korea was being mocked — and that feeling turned into a resolve that I could no longer stand by and tolerate such absurdity and preferential treatment," A said.

Responding to arguments that the short careers of athletes should be taken into account, A said that if such special circumstances were to be considered, the answer was to research deferred service or alternative service arrangements — not blanket exemptions.

A urged that the exemption system be abolished, saying the country must reform the military service exemption regime for artists and athletes in line with the changed times, boost the morale of service members, and build an environment in which military duty is a source of pride. "To establish a culture in which everyone fulfills their military obligations fairly, the exemption system for artists and athletes must be abolished without exception," A said.

Meanwhile, the petition secured 100 preliminary signatures on the day it was filed and is currently under review to determine whether it will be made public.


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