[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] Olympic Candidate Athletes Also Receive Military Service Exemptions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] From this year, candidate athletes who did not participate in Olympic team events can also fulfill alternative military service if their team wins a medal. This measure aims to dispel concerns that coaches make unnecessary player substitutions to grant 'military service exceptions' to candidate athletes during the Olympics.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 19th, a revision of the 'Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act' will be announced for legislative notice until the 28th, allowing candidate athletes to be incorporated as art and sports personnel regardless of whether they participate in the competition.

Until now, only athletes who actually participated in the competition were eligible to be incorporated as art and sports personnel if the national team won in team sports. However, the policy was changed by revising the enforcement decree before the Tokyo Olympics opened, and the new policy can now be applied.

The revision of the Military Service Act enforcement decree also includes provisions allowing early appointment of public health doctors when necessary for public interest, such as responding to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Previously, public health doctors could only receive military training before appointment, but the revision allows military training even after appointment.

Earlier, the Ministry of National Defense appointed 750 new public health doctors early this year to respond to COVID-19. These 750 public health doctors were scheduled to receive military training starting from the 5th of this month, but the training will be conducted after the COVID-19 situation stabilizes.

The Ministry of National Defense also announced a draft enforcement decree for the 'Act on the Incorporation and Service of Alternative Service Personnel (Alternative Service Act)' to implement alternative service for conscientious objectors based on religious beliefs or other reasons this year. The Ministry explained that the draft focuses on fair and independent alternative service reviews, appropriate fact-finding regarding conscience, and strict service management. According to the draft enforcement decree of the Alternative Service Act, the Minister of National Defense will announce and appoint standing members of the Alternative Service Review Committee.

To ensure that related experts are evenly included in the committee, each recommending institution must consult with the Minister of National Defense before recommending members. To maintain the independence of the committee's work, the Military Manpower Administration and the committee will operate separately, and prohibitions on instructions from other government officials related to reviews and partial delegation of personnel authority for committee-affiliated officials are specified. The committee investigates whether the applicant's conscience conflicts with active duty service, whether the applicant's words and actions align with their conscience, and whether supporting documents and testimonies from acquaintances are consistent.

The procedures for mobilization and service related to 'Reserve Forces Alternative Service,' which replaces reserve training, are also specifically regulated. The revision of the Military Service Act enforcement decree requires the Military Manpower Administration and relevant ministries to jointly investigate whether alternative service personnel are assigned prohibited tasks such as carrying weapons. The relevant ministries are responsible for confirming any neglect of duty or poor service. Common provisions applied to military service personnel, such as health insurance, compensation for occupational diseases, and overseas travel permission procedures, will also apply to alternative service personnel, with specific details on service institutions, work fields, salary standards, and leave. The Ministry of National Defense also announced a draft partial revision of the Military Personnel Act enforcement decree, which specifies the obligation to disclose minutes of the Military Service Review Committee meetings upon request by bereaved families and aligns the review standards of the Veterans Review Committee.

A Ministry of National Defense official said, "We will strive to have the enforcement decrees revised and reissued in May through legislative notice, consultations with related ministries, and review by the Office for Government Policy Coordination."