[The Editors' Verdict] BTS, Military Service Exemptions... and the Volunteer System

[Asia Economy Jeong Wanju, Deputy Director and Chief of Political Department] The Joseon martial arts manual 'Muyedobotongji,' which synthesizes the practical martial arts of Korea, China, and Japan, is a product of the Imjin War. Tracing back, its origin can be attributed to the Ming dynasty general Qi Jiguang's customized military strategy book 'Jixiao Xinshu,' based on his experience defeating the Japanese forces.

King Seonjo, helpless against the Japanese invasion, requested support from the Ming dynasty. The Ming dispatched troops led by General Li Rusong, who achieved successive victories with ingenious strategies. Surprised, King Seonjo asked Li Rusong about the source of his success. Li Rusong replied that he merely applied the strategies from 'Jixiao Xinshu.' When Seonjo requested to see this marvelous military manual, Li Rusong firmly refused, citing it as a 'military secret.'

Eventually, Seonjo ordered Yu Seong-ryong and others to conduct a meticulous spy operation, successfully acquiring the legendary military manual. This led to the creation of Joseon's first martial arts manual, 'Muyedjebo,' which eventually blossomed into 'Muyedobotongji.'

Yu Seong-ryong proposed to King Seonjo the establishment of the Training Command, beginning the cultivation of elite special forces. The unit, composed of gunners (砲手) who fired guns, killers (殺手) who wielded spears, and archers (射手) who shot bows, was based on 'Jixiao Xinshu.' These elite soldiers received fixed salaries, resembling today's volunteer military system.

In fact, our current military employs a mixed system of conscription and volunteer enlistment. Conscription applies to enlisted soldiers, while officers and other cadres are recruited through volunteer enlistment. The main point of debate is whether to fully adopt a volunteer system. Therefore, if the current mixed system is flexibly expanded, concerns about weakening military strength can be dispelled.

This possibility is actually included in the Ministry of National Defense's 'Defense Reform 2.0' plan. According to this plan, the standing army of 618,000 personnel will be reduced to 500,000 by 2022. Instead, advanced elite soldiers will be secured as non-commissioned officers and paid support soldiers to strengthen military power.

The strategy is to shorten the service period of conscripted ordinary soldiers, limiting them to simple infantry duties, while filling combat technical specialties with professional soldiers recruited through a volunteer system. In essence, this is almost a semi-volunteer system.

The reason for mentioning the volunteer system is that the controversy over the military service special exemption for BTS, the epitome of K-pop, has intensified again. The starting point was when Representative Roh Woong-rae, a senior member of the Democratic Party, publicly advocated for serious discussion on BTS's military service special exemption.

With 'fairness' already becoming a social phenomenon, heated debates for and against were inevitable. After all, no immediate solution is expected. This means that BTS's military service issue will inevitably continue to be raised whenever it seems to fade. There are limits to resolving the problem solely through military service exemptions.

The solution to the BTS military service exemption controversy hinges on how to flexibly expand and introduce a partially mixed volunteer system. The introduction of a volunteer system inevitably invites criticism that wealthy children can legally evade military duty, opening a loophole. It will be difficult to prevent the deepening of social conflicts caused by wealth disparity.

Nonetheless, our society, facing the era of the 'population cliff,' cannot ignore the introduction of a volunteer system forever. Even if not for BTS, it is time to discuss expanding the partial volunteer system as a means to minimize military service exemption controversies.

However, we must avoid the outdated mistake of starting the volunteer system discussion solely by counting the number of military personnel. A few elite soldiers operating lethal advanced strategic weapons such as unmanned reconnaissance drones, unmanned bombers, unmanned helicopters, and strategic weapon drones can replace an entire division. This is why military powers invest heavily in developing advanced weapons.

Let us recall the Joseon example where gunners, killers, and archers trained at the Training Command were stationed near Hanyang and paid salaries in a volunteer system form. Ultimately, advanced elite soldiers are the core force that can guarantee victory.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.