Song Minho to serve additional 102 days after suspended sentence confirmed

Song Minho, a member of the K-pop group Winner, will serve an additional 102 days as a social service worker after a suspended prison sentence for going absent without leave for 102 days during his mandatory service was finalized.

A Military Manpower Administration official said Friday that the agency is "currently reviewing the process for re-service following the finalization of the (first-instance) ruling," according to Star News.

The agency had earlier stated that once the ruling was finalized, Song would be required to complete additional service equal to the number of days he was absent.

Judge Seong Jun-gyu of the Seoul Western District Court sentenced Song on Oct. 1 to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of violating the Military Service Act. The first-instance ruling was confirmed after Song did not appeal within seven days of sentencing. A supervisor indicted alongside Song, who received a sentence of 10 months in prison suspended for two years, has appealed the ruling.

Song served as a social service worker at a facility management corporation and a residents' welfare center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, from March 2023 to December 2024, during which he was absent without justification for 102 days.

Of the roughly 430 days he was required to report for duty during his one-year-and-nine-month service period, he skipped about one in four.

The court said military service is a civic duty tied to the survival of the nation and must be fulfilled faithfully, adding that social service workers are no exception. It also said there is considerable public attention on how people in the broadcasting industry fulfill their military obligations.

However, the court took into account as mitigating factors that Song admitted to all charges and showed remorse, that he had been in poor health during his service, and that he expressed his intention to complete his remaining military obligations.

In his final statement at trial, Song said he had "failed to faithfully fulfill to the end the duty of national defense that every young person in the Republic of Korea must carry out." He added that he hoped to "recover my health as soon as possible and, if given the chance to serve again, complete it faithfully to the end."

On Monday, Song posted a handwritten apology on his Instagram, writing, "Each day has been filled with regret. I am ashamed of and despise my past choices, which lacked a sense of responsibility." He added that he would "faithfully carry out the remaining procedures and obligations ahead."

In Song's case, he will not re-enlist as an active-duty soldier but will instead serve additional days equal to the number he was absent. This differs from the case of singer Psy, whose industrial technical personnel status was revoked in 2007 due to improper service, requiring him to re-enlist as an active-duty soldier.