South Korea's new Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Park Bo Gyun, revealed public opinion would be the most important factor when deciding BTS's military service exemption at the press conference in Sejong on July 4. Although military service is a sacred duty for Koreans, the group has contributed much to Korean culture.
Park Bo Gyun didn't deny that BTS has "advanced the prestige of the nation," which is also an important factor for an exemption. So, will this help RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook not do their military services?
Park Bo Gyun admitted that there's an issue about the equality between the fields of basic art and popular art, AllKpop noted. It has been known that athletes who won a medal at the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games are exempted from military service.
However, some question if these athletes have brought more honor to the country than a famous group like BTS, whose members are globally known. From there, he explained that public's opinion about the matter would play an important role in the group's military exemption.
He said they weren't the ones who would take the initiative, but they listened to public opinion, which they would deliver to the National Assembly.
In South Korea, all Korean men must have enlisted in the military by age 28, as the law requires. However, BTS managed to postpone their military service until 30 after promulgating the Military Service Act amendment last year.
Manila Bulletin cited a proposal to allow pop culture artists, like BTS, to be added to the arts and sports fields to be granted exemption from military service is pending in Korea's National Assembly. If this is disapproved, Jin, who happens to be the group's oldest member, must enlist in the military by the end of this year, following the current military service law.
Under the Korean Military Service Act law, people in the arts and sports field have "special skills" that serve the country. They're assigned to perform duties in these areas to "promote culture and enhance national prestige."
The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism recommend that people under these fields be exempted from military service. However, suppose public opinion will be the basis for BTS's military exemption. In that case, the boys will surely have a big chance of being exempted, especially after the Korean polling firm Realmeter revealed in April that 65.5% of South Koreans were in favor of BTS's alternative service.
