Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Yu In-chon argued that it is time to consider allowing alternative military service for popular culture artists. He made this statement during an interview with YTN on the 30th.
He stated, “The results that BTS has achieved through their journey are almost equivalent to winning several gold medals at the Olympics. Now, it seems like it’s time to consider various ways to examine this (alternative military service for popular culture artists).” Essentially, he argued that the special military service system for athletes should be maintained and that it should be expanded to include popular culture artists as well.
Previously, on the 2nd, Minister Yu expressed his intention to maintain the current special military service system during a sports sector meeting held at the Seoul branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. He clearly opposed the Military Manpower Administration’s proposal to abolish the special military service system.
Regarding An Se-young’s criticism of the Badminton Association, Minister Yu pointed out that the older generation in power has failed to perceive the changes among today’s athletes. He said, “In the sports world, the ‘follow me, listen to us, and if you don’t, you’ll get nothing’ style is still being maintained. I think it must have been very difficult for the young athletes in the sports field to accept this style.”
