Kim Min-seok calls for major overhaul of military service exemption system

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok said Wednesday that the military service exemption system for athletes needs a significant overhaul, adding that there is a fundamental need to rethink both who qualifies and how the benefit is structured.

Speaking on the Democratic Party's YouTube program "Minti07" Wednesday morning, Kim said the party had discussed the issue at a meeting Tuesday and reviewed the relevant provisions of the law.

The debate over the fairness of military service exemptions for athletes has flared up again after gold medalists at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games became eligible for the benefit. Under the current system, athletes who finish third or higher at the Olympics or first at the Asian Games can be designated as arts and sports personnel, allowing them to fulfill their military obligation without serving as active-duty soldiers — an arrangement commonly referred to as a military service exemption.

"The system originally started as a way to reward athletes for promoting national prestige, but times have changed, the country's standing has changed, and even the question of what counts as promoting national prestige has changed," Kim said.

He added that there is a basic need to "significantly revisit or adjust the scope and method" of the exemption system, and said the matter should be reviewed by the relevant standing committee of the National Assembly.

Options under consideration range from abolishing the exemption system entirely to restricting its application to professional athletes or limiting it to certain sports.

"There are already bills out there — some calling for outright abolition, others for restricting it to professionals or to specific sports," Kim said. "Since individual pieces of legislation already exist, it would be better to coordinate them within a broader framework." He went on to say the party had reached a tentative consensus to refer the review to committee members.