Lawmakers debate military exemption for pop artists like BTS

As a historic first, South Korean lawmakers are duking it out on the hotly debated topic of military exemption for global K-pop sensation BTS. 

On Thursday, lawmakers debated whether the waiver on mandatory military service should extend to pop artists. 

All able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the military for up to 21 months between the ages of 18 and 40. The law currently gives a military service waiver to sportsmen who have won medals at major international events such as the Olympics and those who have received awards at renowned classical music and dance competitions.

Proponents of the military service exemption for BTS argue that the privilege should extend to popular artists that have also contributed to Korea's national prestige. 

The liberal Democratic Party’s Ahn Gyu-back hosted the debate held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. 

The Korea Economic Daily received the debate’s details before the Thursday event. According to the exclusive information, Korea Management Federation chief Lee Nam-kyung said there is a need to “ensure male pop artists’ active performance with the macroscopic goal of promoting national prestige and cultural development.”

Lee questioned whether the military service waiver is being managed fairly. 

“Even though 58% of respondents answer BTS when asked which artist or band has contributed the most to promoting Korea's national prestige and cultural development, the reality is that the exemption does not include pop artists,” he said. 

POLITICAL SCAPEGOAT 

The secretary-general of the Korea Music Content Association Choi Kwang-ho emphasized that the idea of military exemption for pop artists was not first addressed by the entertainment industry but rather by politicians. 

“Whenever the issue of military exemption is brought up in the media, K-pop artists face so much backlash,” Choi said. “I would like to ask why we have to suffer as such on a podium that we did not ask to be on.”

The industry leader asked the government and the National Assembly to look into the overall military exemption system, which he described as being executed unfairly, without focusing so much effort on resisting such privileges to a minuscule number of pop artists. 

“K-pop artists are squeezed in between athletes and classical artists who benefit from the exemption and the public that must fulfill the mandatory service,” said Choi. The entertainment veteran continued: “If pop artists are not included in the exemption roster, does that mean they have not contributed to the country?”

OVERALL REVIEW 

Mo Jong-hwa, the former chief commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration (MMA,) showed a more cautious stance. 

“An overall review of the military exemption system is needed,” Mo said while emphasizing the decreasing number of eligible men who can serve in the military as South Korea is suffering from record low birth rates. 

In the case that the exemption continues to exist for fine artists and professional athletes, Choi said that there should be a clear standard for pop artists as well. 

“There is a need to establish a sweeping policy revision on the existing military service exemption system that reflects the nationwide sentiment,” he reiterated.

Park Mun-eon, a research director at the state-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analysis (KIDA) went a step further to say: “It would be appropriate to discard the exemption for athletes and artists altogether but if we continue with the system, we should also discuss countermeasures.”

Park is also of the opinion that foreign awards are not easy to objectively evaluate and instead suggested exemptions for those who received the Order of Cultural Merit from Seoul.

Back on Nov. 25 of last year, a subcommittee of the National Assembly’s national defense committee suspended a decision on three revised bills, which would have allowed male pop artists deemed to be making high contributions to the national interest to fulfill their duty as public cultural personnel instead of soldiers.

Often compared to the British pop band Beatles in influence, BTS has broken 18 Guinness World Records in their years as a band. 

The boy band managed by HYBE Corp. boasts more than 60 awards and 115 nominations including Billboard Awards, Japan Gold Disc Awards, and Asia Artist awards. In 2020 alone, their song Dynamite broke iTunes, Spotify and YouTube records.

Write to Hyeong-Ju Oh at ohj@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.