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BTS members pose for a photo on May 21 during a global press conference commemorating the release of their digital single “Butter.” (provided by BigHit Music)

BTS was recently named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards, reconfirming its global eminence. But will the members of the K-pop group have to serve in the military? The debate on whether BTS should be exempted from mandatory military service, which began a few years ago, is heating up once again.

On Thursday, the subcommittee that reviews legislation in the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee debated a revision to the Military Service Act that would extend military service exemptions currently given to artists and athletes to figures in popular culture and arts who have boosted South Korea’s image. But the subcommittee remained divided on the measure and decided to canvass public opinion at a future hearing.

Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said Thursday there was a “need for prudence,” indicating that it’s essentially opposed to revising the law.

At present, the Military Service Act allows people with special talents who have helped promote national prestige and advance culture to continue their artistic or athletic careers instead of performing active-duty military service. For example, soccer player Son Heung-min was granted that exemption after the Korean national soccer team won a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

Especially talented performers of the violin and piano are also eligible to receive this kind of exemption. According to the enforcement decree of the Military Service Act, exemptions from active-duty service may be granted to artists who have placed at least second in international arts competitions, placed first in domestic arts competitions if no international competitions exist — such as in the case of gugak, or Korean traditional music — or received their credentials in an area of state-designated intangible cultural heritage following at least five years of education.

Exemptions from military service are also given to athletes who have won at least a bronze medal at the Olympics or won a gold medal in an Asian tournament.

Under the current legal regime, figures in popular culture and art such as BTS members are not eligible for exemption from military service. As a result, BTS members — who were born between 1992 and 1997 — are required to serve as active-duty soldiers. Under an enlistment deferment program for figures in popular culture and art that took effect this June, those who have received cultural awards or medals can delay their enlistment until the age of 30 with the endorsement of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

That means that Jin — who was born in 1992, making him the oldest in the group — will have to enlist next year. The time has finally come for the BTS members to complete their service.

The men who make up BTS have already said several times that they intend to serve in the military, but the debate over military exemptions has proceeded regardless of their own plans. Those who think they should get an exemption have emphasized the group’s global reach.

On Wednesday, the Korea Music Content Association said, “Korea’s popular musicians are in the vanguard of improving the national image and raising the national prestige, and their accomplishments are comparable to those in any other area. We need to establish clear standards for making popular artists eligible for exemptions from military service so that artists who enhance national prestige can set goals and take more pride in their work.”

Those who are more cautious about revising the Military Service Act bring up questions of fairness and the shrinking number of young men available for military service. Those concerns were raised by Boo Seung-chan, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, in a daily press briefing on Thursday.

“From the ministry’s perspective, we can’t disregard variables in the situation. The most urgent of these is the consequences of the sharp decrease in the population [which reduces military manpower], and there also needs to be social consensus. Taking such matters into account, we can see the difficulty of expanding the program of military exemptions for artists and athletes and the need for prudence.”

The Defense Ministry’s attitude is grounded in the belief that the military exemption program — which was adopted in 1973, when there was an abundance of young people available for enlistment — would be harder to expand given the shortage of people who can be conscripted today.

While the ministry stresses fairness, it’s also accused of self-contradiction. When the military exemption program was first introduced in 1973, hardly anyone took advantage of it initially because Korea’s sports and art communities didn’t meet global standards at that point. Prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the only beneficiary was Yang Jung-mo, who won gold in wrestling in 1976, when the games were held in Montreal.

Leading up to the Seoul Olympics, the government greatly expanded the military exemption program with the hope that more athletes would win medals on Korea’s home turf. Exemptions were given to any athletes who could win third place or higher at the Universiade, now called the World University Games.

But when a debate about fairness arose following the Olympics, the exemption standards were stiffened once more to a bronze medal or higher in the Olympics or first place in the Asian Games.

International tournaments for soccer and baseball weren’t originally eligible for military exemptions, but after Korea reached the semifinals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and placed fourth in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the government began granting exemptions for soccer teams that made it to the top 16 in the World Cup and baseball teams that reached fourth place in the World Baseball Classic. But the 2008 additions were reversed following criticism that particular sports were benefiting from special treatment.

In effect, the government itself is to blame for the debate about fairness because of its repeated creation and revocation of military service exemptions.

Members of the National Defense Committee were unanimous in their criticism of the Ministry of National Defense for refusing to seriously consider systemic improvements on the pretext of social consensus and passing the buck to the National Assembly.

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

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