Democratic Party Rep. Kim Young-bae Proposes Bill to Include Artists and Athletes in Military Service Exemption
Military Manpower Administration and Ministry of National Defense Still Opposed... National Assembly Also Unable to Decide, Legislative Process Faces Difficulties
[Asia Economy Military Specialist Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] Discussions are set to resume in the National Assembly regarding the application of military service exemptions for ‘Bangtan Sonyeondan’ (BTS). Since BTS members are scheduled to enlist starting next year, a decision must be made during this regular session of the National Assembly.
According to a National Assembly official on the 20th, Kim Young-bae, a member of the National Defense Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, plans to propose a bill that includes recipients of cultural medals and cultural awards as eligible for inclusion as arts and sports personnel. Current law stipulates that individuals with special skills in arts and sports, as designated by a presidential decree, can be recommended by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism for inclusion as arts and sports personnel. Since there are no separate provisions for popular artists, the bill aims to explicitly include recipients of cultural medals.
All BTS members, from the eldest Jin to RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, hold South Korean nationality and are subject to active military service. Jin, born in December 1992, was originally supposed to enlist in December last year, but following the revision of the Military Service Act in June last year for outstanding popular culture artists, he applied for a postponement of enlistment, delaying his enlistment until the end of this year.
Recently, the National Defense Committee commissioned a survey from the public opinion research firm Realmeter. According to the survey conducted among 1,018 people nationwide aged 18 and older, 60.9% supported alternative service for popular culture artists, while 34.3% opposed it. This has provided justification for proposing the bill.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop expressed a negative view on alternative service during a plenary meeting of the National Defense Committee, stating, "The values of fairness and equity in fulfilling military service obligations are becoming increasingly important." Military Manpower Administration Commissioner Lee Ki-sik also appeared before the National Assembly, saying, "Adding more popular culture artists could disrupt the overall framework of military service exemptions, so we are carefully reviewing the matter," continuing a cautious stance.
Because of this, the National Assembly faces inevitable challenges. This means the legislative process ahead will not be smooth.
A National Assembly official said, "From the People Power Party’s perspective, it is a dilemma because it could be seen as creating a way to avoid military service under a conservative government, and the Democratic Party is also unlikely to receive strong support as the opposition is not moving."
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