Bill proposed to end blanket military service exemption for Asian Games champions

The National Assembly proposed a bill in Seoul to end automatic military service exemptions for Asian Games gold medalists. Submitted by Rep. Joo Ho-young and nine People Power Party lawmakers, the bill would retain exemptions for Olympic medalists and add a Cabinet-approved route for exceptional contributions to Korea’s international standing. The proposal followed criticism of Korean athletes’ comments at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games, while Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said the benefit should ultimately be abolished.

The bill would remove Asian Games gold medals as a standalone qualification for alternative military service under the arts and sports personnel program.

The proposal would allow Cabinet-approved eligibility for people whose achievements in arts or sports significantly enhanced Korea’s international standing.

The current program permits eligible athletes to fulfill military obligations by continuing their sporting careers instead of serving on active duty.

The proposal cited Korea’s baseball gold medal despite an earlier loss to a Japanese squad containing corporate amateur players as an example of differing competition standards.

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said during a parliamentary audit on Wednesday that the ministry aims to gradually scale back and ultimately abolish the benefit program.

Published Oct 9, 2026 3:37 pm KST

Lee Gi-hyuk of Korea’s under-23 football team speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport, Oct. 4, after returning from the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Newsis

A bill has been proposed in the National Assembly to end the automatic military service exemption for Asian Games gold medalists, following controversy sparked by Korean participants in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games.

The bill, submitted by Rep. Joo Ho-young and nine other lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party, seeks to remove Asian Games gold medals as a standalone qualification for alternative military service under the arts and sports personnel program.

The program, under the Military Service Act, allows eligible athletes to fulfill their military obligations by continuing their sporting careers rather than serving on active duty. Olympic medalists and Asian Games gold medalists currently qualify.

The bill would retain eligibility for Olympic medalists. It would also create a route for people recognized as having significantly enhanced the country’s international standing through achievements in arts or sports to qualify with Cabinet approval.

“In some Asian Games sports, the composition of teams and standards of competition vary considerably. Yet gold medalists uniformly qualify for the arts and sports personnel program, without separate consideration of the scale of the competition or the level of competition involved,” the proposal said. “This has prompted persistent criticism that military service benefits have overshadowed the program’s original purpose of enhancing national prestige, with eligibility for such benefits becoming a major focus in some sports.”

They cited Korea’s baseball team, which won gold despite losing earlier to a Japanese squad that included players from corporate amateur teams.

The public criticism against the benefits was further fueled by the Korean football team that beat Japan to secure its fourth consecutive Asian Games title.

After the win, Lee Gi-hyuk said in a televised interview, “I’m not going to the military.” Yang Min-hyeok said that avoiding military duty, rather than winning a medal or trophy, had been his biggest motivation. Park Seung-soo posted a photo of himself in the locker room wearing a “military discharge cap.”

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul also said during a parliamentary audit on Wednesday that the ministry’s goal was to “gradually scale back and ultimately abolish” the benefit program.

韩国国会在首尔提出一项法案，拟取消亚运会金牌得主自动免服兵役的政策。该法案由国会议员朱浩英和九名国民力量党议员共同提出，将保留奥运会奖牌得主的免服兵役待遇，并新增一条经内阁批准的途径，用于表彰对韩国国际地位做出杰出贡献的运动员。此前，韩国运动员在2026年爱知-名古屋亚运会期间的言论引发争议，国防部长姜信哲也表示，这项福利最终应该被废除。

该法案将取消亚运会金牌作为艺术和体育人员替代兵役资格的单独条件。

该提案将允许那些在艺术或体育方面取得显著成就，从而显著提升韩国国际地位的人士获得内阁批准的资格。

目前的计划允许符合条件的运动员通过继续他们的体育生涯来履行军事义务，而不是服现役。

该提案以韩国棒球队在之前输给一支由企业业余球员组成的日本队后仍获得金牌为例，说明比赛标准存在差异。

国防部长姜新哲周三在国会接受审计时表示，国防部的目标是逐步缩减并最终取消这项福利计划。

发布于2026年10月9日下午3:37（韩国标准时间）

10月4日，韩国U23足球队队员李基赫在仁川国际机场接受记者采访，他刚刚结束2026年爱知-名古屋亚运会的征程。（Newsis）

韩国参加 2026 年爱知-名古屋亚运会的运动员引发争议后，韩国国会提出了一项法案，旨在取消亚运会金牌获得者自动免服兵役的政策。

该法案由主要反对党国民力量党的议员朱浩英和其他九名议员提交，旨在取消亚运会金牌作为艺术和体育人员替代兵役的独立资格。

根据《兵役法》，该计划允许符合条件的运动员通过继续其体育生涯而非服现役来履行其兵役义务。目前，奥运会奖牌获得者和亚运会金牌获得者均有资格参与该计划。

该法案将保留奥运奖牌获得者的参赛资格。此外，它还将为那些在艺术或体育领域取得显著成就、显著提升国家国际地位的人士开辟一条途径，经内阁批准后，他们也有资格参赛。

提案指出：“在一些亚运会项目中，参赛队伍的组成和比赛水平差异很大。然而，金牌得主却统一获得艺术和体育人才计划的资格，而没有对比赛规模或水平进行单独考量。这引发了持续不断的批评，认为兵役福利掩盖了该计划提升国家声望的初衷，在某些体育项目中，获得此类福利已成为关注的焦点。”

他们以韩国棒球队为例，该队虽然此前输给了由企业业余球队队员组成的日本队，但最终还是获得了金牌。

韩国足球队击败日本队，连续第四次获得亚运会冠军，这进一步加剧了公众对这些福利的批评。

赛后，李基赫在电视采访中表示：“我不会去服兵役。”杨敏赫则表示，他最大的动力并非赢得奖牌或奖杯，而是逃避兵役。朴承洙则在社交媒体上发布了一张自己在更衣室戴着“退伍帽”的照片。

国防部长姜信哲周三在国会接受审计时也表示，国防部的目标是“逐步缩减并最终取消”这项福利计划。