[Curiosity Lab] Dokyungdong's Salute and Imjonghun's Embrace... Another Medal, the 'Military Medal'

Military Service Exemptions Regardless of Olympic Medal Color
Active Duty Fencing Athlete Do Kyung-dong and Table Tennis Player Lim Jong-hoon Receive Exemptions
Controversy Over Military Service Exemptions in Korea
'Popular Culture' BTS Members Also Enlist

The men's sabre team, consisting of Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall), Koo Bon-gil (Korea Sports Promotion Foundation), Park Sang-won (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall), and Do Kyung-dong (Armed Forces Athletic Corps), defeated Hungary 45-41 in the men's sabre team event held on the 1st (Korean time) at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, achieving their third consecutive Olympic gold medal. In particular, Do Kyung-dong delivered a perfect 5-0 performance against Kristian Lap, earning praise for playing the role of a special joker. As seen from Do Kyung-dong's team affiliation, he is currently serving in the military. He saluted on the podium. When met in the mixed zone, Do Kyung-dong saluted with a "Loyalty." When asked by reporters if this was his final loyalty, he replied, "Yes." Do Kyung-dong, who enlisted last April, is scheduled to be discharged in October. By winning the gold medal, he will receive military service exemption and will be discharged in August.

Table tennis player Lim Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange) was scheduled to enlist on August 19, but 20 days before his enlistment, at the mixed doubles medal ceremony held on the 30th (local time), Lim Jong-hoon, paired with Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air), brought an Olympic medal to Korean table tennis for the first time in 12 years. With the bronze medal won that day, Lim Jong-hoon will receive military service benefits. Netizens gave Shin Yu-bin the nickname "legal military service broker." Lim Jong-hoon candidly shared his feelings: "It would be a lie to say I wasn't concerned about the military exemption. I wondered if I was strange for feeling that way, but my teammate (Jang) Woo-jin told me, 'If you don't care, you're not human,' so I decided to accept it. I set the keyword 'challenge' and gave my best in each match."

Military service is a national defense duty for Korean men. As someone once said, "There is no military anyone wants to go to." This is especially true for young people in their teens and twenties active in culture, arts, and sports. If they win a medal (gold, silver, bronze) at the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games, they are exempt from military service. After completing four weeks of basic military training, they must volunteer for 544 hours in their field of activity to be recognized as having fulfilled military service. The joy and sorrow of military enlistment and medals are inevitably intertwined. Lee Won-ho (KB Kookmin Bank) and Oh Ye-jin (IBK Industrial Bank), who participated in the mixed air pistol bronze medal match, lost 10-16 to Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh (India). Lee Won-ho, who placed fourth in the men's air pistol, narrowly missed a medal again in the mixed event. Had they won the bronze medal, they would have received military service benefits. Lee Won-ho plans to enlist in the Armed Forces Athletic Corps after returning to Korea.

In this Olympics, Korean soccer failed to qualify for the Olympic finals for the first time in 40 years since the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Coach Hwang Sun-hong's players missed the opportunity to make a name in the world soccer scene and also lost the chance for military service benefits. For our athletes participating in international competitions, military service is as important as victory and medals. Kim Ki-hee, who played soccer at the 2012 London Olympics, left a story of playing four minutes in the bronze medal match against Japan and then being discharged. At that time, in team sports, players had to actually participate in the game to receive military service benefits even if the team won a medal. Now, participation is not required. The highlight of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games was Son Heung-min. It was the last match determining military exemption. The soccer team won the gold medal by beating Japan 2-1 in the final.

Military service exemptions are classified into ▲ athletes and artists who win awards at the Olympics, Asian Games, international competitions, etc. ▲ professional researchers and industrial technical personnel for national industrial development purposes ▲ public health doctors serving in public medical fields. The military service exemption system has been controversial. BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) contributed to promoting Korea worldwide by becoming the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 chart. However, since exemptions were only granted for pure arts, controversy arose, and eventually, it was decided that all members would enlist. Jin, the eldest member of BTS, was the first among the seven members to complete 18 months of military service and was discharged on June 12. Jin enlisted as an active-duty soldier in December 2022 and served as an instructor at the 5th Infantry Division's recruit training battalion. J-Hope, the second member to enlist, will be discharged in October. Suga, serving as a social service agent, and RM, V, Jimin, and Jungkook, who enlisted as active-duty soldiers, will all be discharged simultaneously in June next year.

The government plans to announce improvements to the military service exemption system within the year through a task force (TF) involving related ministries such as the Ministry of National Defense, Military Manpower Administration, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In an interview with Yonhap News in May, Military Manpower Administration Commissioner Lee Ki-sik said about the military service exemption for athletes and artists, "It could be abolished," adding, "Nothing has been decided yet, and there could be various options. The criteria for the best option are fairness in fulfilling military service obligations and the public's expectations."