Sung Il-jong: "Plan to Complete BTS Military Service Special Act by April"

"All Members Agree on Necessity... Let's Finish by April"

Group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan). / Big Hit Music [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party, stated on the 11th that discussions regarding the military service of the idol group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) are currently underway with the intention to conclude by April.

In an interview with YTN Radio on the same day, Representative Seong said, "Despite significantly elevating the nation's status and prestige, the fact that they have not yet received military service exemptions appears to be a loophole in the law."

Regarding the background of proposing the so-called 'BTS Military Service Exemption Act,' which includes popular culture artists as eligible for military service exemptions, Representative Seong explained, "Our great young people in their 20s have dominated the global market and have won first place on the Billboard chart 17 times. They have also expanded globally by winning the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards," adding, "We proposed the bill so that the national prestige is elevated and Korea is introduced to the world, and so that many future popular musicians can fairly receive such military service benefits."

Currently, three military service law amendment bills, including one proposed by Representative Seong, as well as by Representative Ahn Min-seok of the Democratic Party and Representative Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party, are pending in the National Assembly. The ruling and opposition parties discussed these bills at the National Defense Committee's bill review subcommittee in November last year, but no conclusion was reached due to divided opinions.

On the issue of 'fairness' related to military service exemptions, Representative Seong said, "Billboard in the United States should be regarded as the Olympics of popular music," and added, "In the field of popular culture, musicians like BTS have contributed enormously to Korea's national prestige, even when converted into economic value. All lawmakers agree on the justification, and I believe those fairness issues will be somewhat resolved."

He continued, "Currently, we have set the exemption criteria based on Olympic medalists and Asian Games medalists. So, for culture and arts, we considered using the state's recognition such as orders of merit or awards as a standard. In fact, there have been many discussions among lawmakers on these points," and added, "The ruling and opposition party floor leaders agreed to quickly conclude this by April."

Meanwhile, HYBE, BTS's agency, recently urged the National Assembly for a swift conclusion regarding the members' military service issues. Lee Jin-hyung, HYBE's Chief Communications Officer (CCO), said at a press conference held on the 9th (local time) at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, USA, "It is true that the members are struggling because it is difficult for them to make their own plans," and added, "We hope the National Assembly will discuss this promptly as soon as possible."