Korea moves closer to cutting military exemptions for athletes and artists following Asian Games controversy

Korea is close to deciding whether to cut back or end special military service exemptions for athletes and artists, the head of the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said Monday.

Conscription for women, which has been floated with the falling birthrate, is not under consideration, it added.

The position reaffirmed the Ministry of National Defense’s broader plan, announced on Tuesday, to reduce or abolish supplementary service, including special arrangements for athletes and artists, as part of its basic defense reform plan.

Supplementary service is a category of military duty for people who fulfill their service obligation outside regular active-duty military service. It includes social service personnel, arts and sports personnel, public health doctors, public-service advocates, expert research personnel and industrial technical personnel.

In Korea, all able-bodied men must complete 18 to 21 months of service under a mandatory draft system. Athletes who finish third or higher at the Olympics or win a gold medal at the Asian Games can be assigned to alternative service and only have to complete three weeks of basic training and 544 hours of community service over 34 months.

The exemption system recently came under intense scrutiny after a Korean football player whose team won gold in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 said in a post-match interview that winning a military service exemption, rather than the medal itself, had been his main focus at the Asian Games.

Some people saw his comment as reducing the Asian Games to a route to military exemption and demanded that the rule be changed to no longer allow medalists to receive exemptions. The debate went as far as a public petition posted on the National Assembly website.

“Our position is the same as the Defense Ministry’s,” Hong So-young, commissioner of the MMA, said during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly on Monday.

Her remarks came in response to a question from Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the ruling Democratic Party about the MMA’s position on the ministry’s announcement.

“We are conducting a policy study this year on the system for arts and sports personnel,” Hong said. “However, we were unable to properly gather opinions from the relevant ministries and other stakeholders ahead of the [recent] Asian Games because we had to be considerate of the athletes’ morals.”

“The research results are expected at the end of November,” Hong continued. “Based on those findings and public opinion, we plan to come up with a reasonable reform plan around next year.”

Hong said the system could not be “abolished all at once” and suggested that changes could be made by “revising” the Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act.

The revision would target Article 68 of the decree, which sets the eligibility criteria for designation as arts and sports personnel.

The MMA also said it plans to tighten the eligibility standard for winners of international arts competitions from second place or higher to first place only. The move is seen as part of the same broader effort to scale back the system.

Female conscription is not currently being reviewed.

“The official position is that we are not considering it at this time,” Hong said.

The issue has significant social implications, Hong said in response to a question from Rep. Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party.

“Rather than introducing it suddenly, we are preparing to build public consensus while gradually increasing the proportion of female military officers,” Hong said.

Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) argued that the time had come to consider female conscription.

“Military manpower will fall sharply after 2037 and drop below 150,000 after 2040,” Hong said. “I agree to some extent. [But] we will begin by raising awareness of the importance of fulfilling military service obligations.”

Hong was also asked whether former Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back had requested a correction to his military service records.

“There has been no request for a correction,” Hong said in response to Rep. Han Ki-ho of the PPP.

Ahn had faced allegations that he left his assigned post while serving as a short-term enlisted soldier. The Defense Ministry previously said Ahn would request corrections to errors in his military records and take follow-up measures after leaving public office, but no such action has been taken so far.

Hong also addressed the issue of elected officials concurrently serving as social service personnel.

The issue sparked controversy after the Gangseo-gu District Council in Gangseo District, western Seoul, revoked permission for Chief Commissioner Kim Min-seok to serve as a social service agent while performing his duties as an elected official. The Seoul Administrative Court later ruled that the revocation was unlawful.

“The age of elected officials is gradually falling, so this is an issue that requires further study,” Hong said.

BY SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]