All BTS Members Enlisted But Military Service Law Remains, SEVENTEEN and NCT 127 Are Next To Enlist

With all members of the world-class boy group BTS joining the military, many have raised their voice for the improvement of the “special exemption system for art and sports personnel.” It is pointed out that the military service exemption law, which began to be used in 1973, is an “obsolete system” that focuses on specific areas. Since the enactment of the Act on Special Military Service, efforts have been made to expand the exemption scope to pop culture, but discussion has been suspended in 2021.

According to the National Assembly’s legislative notice system on December 17th, no discussion has been made since it was proposed in October 2021 to incorporate pop culture into the bill. The bill has also been pending in the National Assembly for more than two years.

Last year, the bill became a hot topic over the issue of BTS’s military service. As it was argued that BTS had promoted national prestige to the extent that it exceeded the criteria for selecting art and sports personnel, the public believed that they should also be given special military service benefits. A number of entertainment-related organizations, including the Korea Music Contents Association and the Korea Entertainment Producers Association, voiced their opinions, saying, “Inequality, as pop artists do not even have the opportunity to be considered (as qualified arts and sports personnel), should be improved.”

As a result, all BTS members joined the military. This is because it was the government’s judgment at the time that it was against equity to give BTS a military service exemption based on related laws. The problem is that even after BTS decided to enlist, the issue of equity in related laws has been repeatedly raised. This problem is showing signs of coming to the surface whenever a male group that fosters national prestige through K-pop appears.

According to a related law, male celebrities born after 1995 must enlist in 2024, the next generation of idol groups that follow BTS will have to enlist one after another. Representatives of this include Seventeen and NCT 127. Members who are about to join the military next year include S.Coups, Jeonghan, and Taeyong. With the related law revision locked up in the National Assembly for more than two years, their fans and the music industry are eagerly waiting for it to be enacted.

The rationale for the claim that the related laws are rather unfair to K-pop boy groups lies in the Military Service Act, which limits the subject of special military service. Under the Military Service Act, the special military service system is operated so that if one achieves a certain level or higher achievements at designated 42 cultural and artistic competitions in areas such as art, sports classical music, Korean traditional music, and ballet, he will be transferred to supplementary service instead of active duty to fulfill his military service obligations.

However, pop culture artists such as BTS are not subject to supplementary roles. This is why there are complaints about the special system itself.

Time has changed. It would not be a surprise if a K-pop singer topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in the U.S. This means that cultivating national prestige is not only allowed in just the designated areas of art and sports. It is time to make a choice that suits the spirit of the times. The current law could undermine the value of equity and fairness that the government has emphasized.

Source: TenAsia