Defense ministry to pursue cut, abolition of alternative service for arts, sports
Version 3: New coverage adds the players’ public apologies, the 1-0 final against Japan and its Oct 3 date, an opposition party call to redesign the exemption criteria, and specifics of how the supplementary service system works, while the ministry’s stated plan and the athletes’ remarks remain as previously reported.
In short
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Oct 6 that it plans to ultimately pursue a reduction and abolition of supplementary military service, including arts and sports personnel, and to reflect it in the defense reform basic plan. Spokesperson Jung Bit-na said the ministry feels “very regretful” about remarks by some Asian Games football gold medallists about military exemption, and that it will weigh fairness among those liable for service, falling military resources and public consensus. The statement followed the team’s 1-0 win over Japan in the Oct 3 final, after which players spoke about the exemption and one posted a photo of himself in a “discharge cap”.
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South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Oct 6 that it plans to ultimately pursue a reduction and abolition of supplementary military service, including arts and sports personnel, and to reflect it in the defense reform basic plan. Spokesperson Jung Bit-na told a regular briefing at the ministry building in Yongsan, Seoul, that the ministry would take into account fairness among those liable for military service, the shrinking pool of military resources and public consensus. [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Jung said the ministry feels “very regretful” about remarks that came out of some parts of the sports world, and said military service is “a sacred duty that all members of our society should respect and hold in honour together”. She added that she hopes a social culture that values that duty more highly takes hold, noting that soldiers and reservists are carrying out their duties at this moment. [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
The statement followed controversy at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. South Korea beat host Japan 1-0 in the men’s football final on Oct 3 to take a fourth consecutive title, with gold medallists eligible for the military exemption. Captain Lee Ki-hyuk said after the final that enlistment had been nine days away had the team not won, and said “I’m not going to the army”. Yang Min-hyuk said medals or trophies were not important and that he seemed to have played looking only at the military exemption. Park Seung-su, who played 16 minutes in the tournament, posted a photo on social media of himself wearing a “discharge cap” in the locker room. [ 6 , 7 ]
The players apologised. Lee said he should have taken responsibility for every word and had not; Yang said his meaning was miscommunicated and that he had not taken lightly the service of those serving or yet to serve; Park said he had not thought about the meaning of the cap. Seoul Economic Daily also reported that Choi Woo-jin posted a video of himself limping and taking the gold medal out of his shoe, drawing criticism that it resembled a specific incident. The baseball team also won gold, beating Japan’s amateur-representative side, with 16 players set to receive benefits. [ 6 ]
After the remarks, political circles repeatedly argued that the arts and sports exemption should be revised. Park Sung-hoon, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, said in a commentary that “the Taegeuk mark is not a free pass to avoid military service” and called for a full redesign of the exemption criteria, taking into account the level of competition and international standing in each sport. [ 2 , 6 , 7 ]
Under current law, people who have contributed to culture or national prestige in arts and sports are classified as arts and sports personnel and assigned to supplementary service. They undergo three weeks of basic military training and then perform 544 hours of service in their field over 34 months. The system was introduced in 1973, and under the enforcement decree sports personnel qualify by placing third or higher at the Olympics or first at the Asian Games. Seoul Economic Daily reported that falling conscript numbers amid low birth rates and a stronger emphasis on fairness have fuelled debate over the system. [ 6 , 8 ]
Yonhap reported that the government has been reviewing a plan to adjust the size of supplementary service personnel for inclusion in the new defense reform basic plan. Military Manpower Administration chief Hong So-young said in an August interview with Yonhap that the plan would cover how to carry out a phased reduction and abolition of the supplementary service system and that the matter was in the final review stage. On arts personnel specifically, she said she and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shared a basic direction of narrowing recognised competitions around authoritative events and adjusting the criteria for inclusion in stages. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The ministry’s stated intention concerns the exemption route that lets arts and sports personnel serve supplementary duty instead of active service, a route that could be narrowed or closed if it is written into the new defense reform basic plan now being drawn up. Both the Defense Ministry and the Military Manpower Administration tie the direction to fairness among those liable for service and to falling conscript numbers, so any change would affect how future Asian Games and Olympic medallists serve. The debate also extends to whether professional athletes competing against amateur sides should keep the benefit.
Key facts
- The Defense Ministry said on Oct 6 it plans to ultimately pursue a reduction and abolition of supplementary service, including arts and sports personnel, and to reflect it in the defense reform basic plan. [ 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Spokesperson Jung Bit-na said at a regular briefing at the ministry building in Yongsan, Seoul, that the ministry would consider fairness among those liable for service, the shrinking pool of military resources and public consensus. [ 2 , 6 , 7 ]
- Jung said the ministry feels “very regretful” about remarks that came out of some parts of the sports world, and called military service a sacred duty all members of society should respect. [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- South Korea beat host Japan 1-0 in the men’s football final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Oct 3, taking a fourth consecutive title. [ 6 , 7 ]
- Captain Lee Ki-hyuk said “I’m not going to the army”, Yang Min-hyuk said medals or trophies were not important and that he seemed to have played looking only at the military exemption, and Park Seung-su posted a locker-room photo of himself wearing a “discharge cap”. [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Park Sung-hoon, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, said “the Taegeuk mark is not a free pass to avoid military service” and called for the exemption criteria to be fully redesigned by competition level and international standing. [ 7 ]
- The system was introduced in 1973; under current rules sports personnel qualify by placing third or higher at the Olympics or first at the Asian Games, and those assigned to supplementary service do three weeks of basic training and 544 hours of service in their field over 34 months. [ 6 , 8 ]
- Military Manpower Administration chief Hong So-young said in an August interview that a phased reduction and abolition of the supplementary service system was in the final review stage. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Defense Ministry said on Oct 6 it plans to reflect a reduction and abolition of supplementary service, including arts and sports personnel, in the defense reform basic plan. [ 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- The ministry’s position was stated publicly by spokesperson Jung Bit-na at a regular briefing at the ministry building in Yongsan, Seoul. [ 2 , 6 , 7 ]
- The ministry said it would take into account fairness among those liable for military service, the decline in military resources and public consensus. [ 2 , 6 , 7 ]
- Jung said the ministry feels “very regretful” about remarks from some parts of the sports world and described military service as a sacred duty all members of society should respect. [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- South Korea won men’s football gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games by beating Japan 1-0, and some players made remarks about the military exemption afterwards. [ 6 , 7 ]
- Yang Min-hyuk said medals or trophies were not important and that he appeared to have played only for the military exemption; Park Seung-su posted a photo of himself wearing a “discharge cap”. [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Political circles repeatedly argued after the players’ remarks that the arts and sports military service exemption should be revised. [ 2 , 6 , 7 ]
- The arts and sports military service system was introduced in 1973, and current criteria for sports personnel are a top-three Olympic finish or a first-place Asian Games finish. [ 6 , 8 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the reduction and abolition of supplementary service will actually be adopted, and on what timetable. The documents say the plan is being reviewed and will be reflected in the defense reform basic plan now being drawn up, but give no decision date or final text.
- What specific criteria changes would apply to sports personnel, as opposed to arts personnel. Only one document sets out a direction, and only for arts personnel — narrowing recognised competitions around authoritative events and adjusting inclusion criteria in stages.
- Whether the athletes’ remarks caused the ministry’s move or were added to a review already under way. One document describes a government review of supplementary service numbers tied to falling active-duty resources, while other coverage links the statement to the controversy, without resolving the sequence.
- Choi Woo-jin’s video of himself limping and taking the gold medal out of his shoe, which drew criticism for resembling a specific incident. Only one outlet reports this, and no second document confirms it.
- Details of what Newsis reported on the event beyond its headline. The article text supplied by Newsis is about a different subject — the Supreme Court chief at a National Assembly audit — so its coverage of this event could only be checked at headline level.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap reports the Defense Ministry’s plan to reduce and eventually abolish supplementary service, including arts and sports personnel, and spokesperson Jung Bit-na’s remarks at the regular briefing. [ 2 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the same ministry position as its official response to the controversy over the football team’s remarks. [ 3 ]
- Seoul Shinmun runs a headline asking whether Asian Games gold-medal military benefits will really disappear. [ 4 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports in detail, including the Oct 3 final, the players’ remarks, their apologies, the baseball team’s gold and 16 players receiving benefits. [ 6 ]
- CBS NoCut News adds an opposition party spokesperson’s call for the exemption criteria to be redesigned. [ 7 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun publishes the ministry’s statement along with details of how the supplementary service system works. [ 8 ]