Minister Hwang Hee Appeals for National Assembly Approval of ‘BTS Military Service Exemption’... “We Do Not Want to Avoid It”

Minister Hwang: "BTS's Activities Are More Beneficial to National Interest Than Military Enlistment"

Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is urging the establishment of a system to incorporate popular culture artists as artistic personnel at the briefing room of the Seoul Government Complex Annex in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, appealed for the necessity of establishing a system to include popular culture artists as artistic personnel and urged the prompt passage of the amendment to the Military Service Act, known as the so-called 'BTS Act,' in the National Assembly.

On the 4th, Minister Hwang held a briefing at the annex of the Government Complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "Recently, as the achievements of our country's popular culture artists have been remarkable, and opinions are divided over the military enlistment of some members of BTS, I thought someone needed to raise a responsible voice," explaining the background of his remarks.

Minister Hwang said, "Despite the clear achievements in promoting national prestige by popular culture artists and reaching the peak of their skills, they had no choice but to suspend their activities due to fulfilling military service obligations. This represents a national loss in that it highlights the reality of a divided country unable to protect its cultural resources, and a cultural loss for all humanity as it means the suspension of activities by world-class artists."

He continued, "Now is the time to establish a system to include popular culture artists as artistic personnel," emphasizing, "The artistic and athletic personnel system has been meaningfully operated as a system that gives talented individuals who have promoted national prestige based on excellent skills the opportunity to contribute more significantly to the country by utilizing their specialties, and there is no reason why the popular culture arts field should be excluded from this."

Furthermore, he explained, "Especially K-pop has continued its global success, marking a milestone in the history of popular music. Among them, BTS generates a production inducement effect worth 1.2 trillion won per concert and has won numerous prestigious overseas music awards, demonstrating cultural influence that moves the world," adding, "As the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, traveling to major countries abroad, I became convinced that more active support is necessary to elevate the power of our culture."

BTS, having finished their Las Vegas concert, is scheduled to make a comeback with a new album on June 10. Photo by BTS Official Twitter [Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Hwang earnestly appealed to the youth in their 20s, saying, "I sincerely and urgently appeal to all Koreans who have faithfully completed, are currently performing, or will perform military service in the future," asking for understanding regarding the BTS military service special case.

He also requested the National Assembly to promptly pass the amendment to the Military Service Act concerning the establishment of a system to include popular culture artists as artistic personnel, which is currently pending in the National Assembly. He added that if the amendment passes, he will work with related ministries to establish reasonable and fair inclusion criteria.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans, after the amendment to the Military Service Act, to conduct practical consultations with related ministries such as the Ministry of National Defense and the Military Manpower Administration to provide opportunities for popular culture artists who have promoted national prestige to serve as artistic personnel, while also establishing fair and strict standards to prevent abuse of the system.