Seong Il-jong: "Winning Jeonju Daesaseupnori Also Exempts from Military Service... Is It Fair If BTS Doesn't Get It?"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Seong Il-jong, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the People Power Party, raised the issue of fairness regarding BTS's military exemption, stating that "there are as many as 42 domestic systems that provide military service benefits."

On the 15th, Seong appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "Even if you win at the Jeonju Daesaseupnori, you get a military exemption. If you win a classical guitar competition in a place like Chile, you get an exemption, and if you win at a contest held in Sapporo, you also get such exemptions. There are 42 such cases," he said.

He explained, "There are young people like BTS who have shone or will shine in Korea, but they do not receive exemptions even if they win awards like the Billboard Awards, American Music Awards, or Grammy Awards. Is that fair?"

Seong said, "The intention is not to give BTS benefits regarding military service, but because it is not consistent with the current (military service benefit) systems, the first goal is to balance this. It is not about exempting them from military service but about allowing alternative service, which requires some understanding," he said.

Regarding the characterization of the Moon Jae-in administration's solar power project as a 'den of corruption,' he emphasized, "The renewable energy solar power project carried out by the Moon Jae-in administration was not an original business idea of that government," adding, "It was something that had been done since the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, and the direction was correct. However, in cases where bad acts were committed by parasites attached around power during such projects, a clear crackdown is necessary," he stressed.

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