As public opinion sided with BTS, is this a green light for their “alternative service” which has been delayed by politicians?

The public is siding with BTS as politicians delayed their decision over the alternative service of popular cultural artists, which began with the “BTS Military Service Exemption.” 

The pros and cons of the BTS‘s military service exemption were armed with their respective logic and confrontation tightly. A public opinion poll became the measure of judgment as the Ministry of National Defense handed over the ball to the public to decide BTS’s enlistment, although the Ministry belatedly expressed its intention not to make a decision based on those opinion polls. 

Public sentiment is leaning toward supporting an alternative service for the BTS members. In the most recent poll, 6 out of 10 people agreed to BTS’s alternative service. Even after the Chuseok holiday, public sentiment seems to be steady in support of BTS’s alternative service.

According to a poll conducted among 3,004 men and women aged 18 or older across the country on Sep 13th, 59.8% agreed, 38.8% disagreed, and 1.4% have no opinion about this matter.

In addition, when asked about BTS’ contribution to Korea’s national prestige and cultural development, 88.1% answered that they have contributed. When asked whether they agreed to an alternative service for personnel in the field of pop culture and arts, 52.7% agreed, 42.7% disagreed, and 4.6% said they have no opinion.

It is similar to the results released by Realmeter before Chuseok. In a survey of 2,000 men and women aged 18 or older across the country on whether they agree to “transition to alternative service for BTS,” 67.5% agreed to the alternative service, 31.3% disagreed, and 1.2% have no opinion about htis. Nearly 7 out of 10 agreed to BTS’ alternative service. 

In a survey regarding BTS’ military service exemptions conducted by Cho Won C&I on Sep 4th, 54.1% of 1,001 people said the group should enlist. At the time, the opinions were also divided into “They must fulfill their military service obligations because they are willing to do so,” and “We should give them special military service benefits for the national interest.”

There is a national consensus that pop culture personnel should also be provided a way to fulfill their national defense obligations by utilizing their specialties. In a poll conducted by Embrain in March, 78% agreed with the alternative service system for pop culture personnel while 22% opposed to it. According to a telephone survey of 1,004 people aged 18 or older nationwide by Gallup Korea from April 5th to 7th, 59% of the respondents agreed to include military service exceptions for popular artists, and 33% opposed. 

The special military service system for art and sports personnel, which was first implemented in 1973, has been revised 13 times over the past 50 years. Unlike in the past, when only two or more international music competitions were given preferential treatment, 28 international music competitions, 9 international dance competitions, 5 domestic art competitions, and 119 other categories are currently recognized. As of July 2021, 835 people (628 in domestic competitions and 207 in international competitions) have received the special exemption.

The sport athletes are a rather special case. The military exemption was granted only to those who finished third or higher in the Olympics and first in the Asian Games, but they recently added special conditions for advancing to the round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup and fourth place in the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

The 2002 World Cup was the first time South Korea advanced to the round of 16 in a tournament held in Korea, and the WBC used equity with soccer as its logic. It is not a new thing for the government to ask for public opinion about the military exemption. Since it is not an absolute standard, the Military Service Act can be revised at any time according to public opinion depending on the times. 

The modern art world, such as pop culture artists and installation art, has been excluded from the military service exemption of art and sportsmen. While the relevant legislation has been revised 13 times, the inclusion of pop culture specialists was not even mentioned. The question of equity has been raised as to why popular culture cannot be included in the art and sports personnel system. The pop culture community argued that Korean Wave contents such as K-pop, movies, and dramas should also be considered for military service exemptions by citing the global development of pop culture. 

The key point of the “BTS Military Service Exemption” is not to exempt BTS from military service, but to stop the discrimination against pop culture artists. The art personnel system should be understood as a device to protect the artistic skills of art specialists, which are limited to a very small number, rather than a reward for promoting national prestige.

Politicians, who are delaying their decision and leaving only responsibility relating to the military issue in BTS, have only been calling for a solution yet no action had been done. Therefore, it is not easy for a revision of the military service law to take place quickly. Public opinion recognizes the contributions of popular artists such as BTS and is sending a positive signal to improve the system.

Source: daum