Winner's Song Min-ho faces backlash as military agency weighs 102-day re-service order

The Military Manpower Administration is moving to order Winner member Song Min-ho, 33, to complete additional service after he received a suspended prison sentence for going absent without leave for 102 days during his social service duty — and the announcement has drawn a wave of online criticism, with some calling for him to re-enlist from scratch, as rapper Psy once did.

According to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office, the 102 days of unauthorized absence were confirmed through mobile phone forensics and GPS records. The figure represents roughly one-quarter of the approximately 430 working days — excluding weekends and public holidays — in his total service period.

In July 2024 alone, Song showed up for just four of the 23 days he was required to work. When he skipped duty citing reasons such as oversleeping or fatigue, his service supervisor, identified only by the surname Lee, 54, allowed the absences and falsified daily attendance logs to make it appear Song had reported normally.

On Oct. 1, Judge Seong Jun-gyu of Seoul Western District Court's Criminal Division 10 sentenced Song to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of violating the Military Service Act. Lee received 10 months, also suspended for two years. The ruling became final after Song chose not to appeal.

The Military Manpower Administration told a media outlet Friday that it is "currently reviewing the process for re-service" following the finalization of the first-instance ruling. The specific location and schedule for the additional duty have not been determined.

Once the agency's plans became known, however, criticism mounted online over the fairness of requiring Song to make up only the days he missed, with many users arguing he should be made to restart his service from the beginning.

"He skipped more than 100 days, avoided prison and only has to make up the days he missed — that's basically a free vacation," one commenter wrote. Others said he should serve a full 18 months over again, demanded he be sent back as an active-duty conscript, questioned whether an ordinary person would have received the same lenient ruling, and called for him to re-enlist as Psy once did. "102 days? He should get an enhanced penalty and serve three years," another wrote.

Song was classified as a fourth-grade supplemental service candidate during his military physical examination and began his social service posting at the Seoul Mapo Facilities Management Corporation on March 24, 2023. In March 2024, he was transferred to the Mapo Residents' Convenience Facility.