Korean Athletes Get an Exemption From the National Military Service: Fair or Unfair?

In South Korea, it has been a long tradition for men over the age of 18 has to serve a compulsory military service. Although this has been a highly controversial topic amongst South Korean citizens whether it is necessary for all South Korean men to attend the army, there are growing concerns about the unfair benefits South Korean athletes receive.

Traditionally in Korea, apart from men with either physical or mental disabilities, all men over the age of 18 has to serve for the national military service, as stated in the Korean constitution. However, the specific information about this benefits is also stated in the Korean constitution:  “Athletes who achieve an outstanding result in a particular competition also receives an exemption from the compulsory military service. However, athletes who receive an exemption from the military service has to attend the basic training session”. Such benefits are also applied to athletes who are from a country that has a selective service such as Iran and North Korea.

The criterion for granting the exemption depends on the size of the event. According to the National Sports Department in Korea, the only three-sport events that are within the approval range for the exemption of military services are the Olympics, Asian Games, and World Cups. For each of these events, players have to be at a certain ranking in order to receive the benefit. For the Olympics, rankings 1~3, for Asian Games, 1st place, and for the World Cups, rankings above 16 are all in the boundary of receiving the benefit.

Although all of the achievements mentioned above are definitely a contribution to the country and are achievements that the entire citizens should be proud of, there are different opinions regarding this topic.

According to Gabriel Kim, a junior in AISG, supports the military benefits athletes receive in Korea: ” I believe athletes should be exempted from going into the military. If that is not possible, they should be able to choose when they will go serve in the military, because for athletes, their peak of performance usually lasts from early 20’s to early 30’s. If they are forced to go to the military in their late 20’s, during those two years in the military, they will lose their skills, and later be unable to compete in the international stage anymore. Also, athletes elevate the status of our country if they win in international competitions, so if they win a medal, I think they should be exempted from the military”.

 Some citizens support Gabriel’s opinion, yet there are still a lot of people who believe that all Korean citizens should attend the military service no matter how outstanding ability one has. However, would it be justifiable for athletes to get exempted from the military service to carry on their career for their reputation? Or would it be dishonorable for athletes to receive benefit from the military service just because of their intrinsic talent?