BTS members Jimin and Jungkook enlisted in active military service on December 12, marking the beginning of the group's collective military hiatus. Amidst controversy regarding military exemption, they kept their promise that "military service is a natural duty, and we will respond whenever the country calls." Subsequently, the once-heated discussion in the political realm about military exemptions for popular culture artists has quietened down.
The debate around amending the military service law, centered on BTS, evolved in two stages. The first was the amendment passed in December 2020, which allows for deferral of military enlistment until the age of 30 for those awarded cultural merits by the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, seen largely as a move for BTS, who received the 'Order of Cultural Merit' in 2018.
Initially, there were no significant objections. However, controversy over fairness erupted when a second amendment proposed in June 2021 suggested exempting BTS as art personnel from military service. The proposal aimed to extend the special military service exemption, which applied only to classical arts, to popular culture and arts. The problematic aspect was setting specific criteria for awards like the Grammy Awards, where BTS had won, potentially creating standards tailored exclusively for BTS.
The subsequent bipartisan disputes over fairness stalled further discussion. In November of the same year, as public opposition, especially from the youth, surfaced over fairness issues, the National Assembly temporarily halted discussions related to BTS. However, the political arena continued to sporadically propose military exemption for BTS until last year. Suddenly, discussions regarding military exemptions for popular culture artists have now subsided, coinciding with the enlistment of BTS member Jin.
A music industry insider criticized, "It's clear that politicians used BTS as a card to sway public opinion. The music industry also had a goal to expedite the passage of the law using figures like BTS, but it turned out to be a law essentially for BTS alone."
However, there is still a consensus in the music industry that the military service law for popular culture artists should be fairly applied like other artists. In October this year, associations related to popular culture and arts, including the Korea Music Content Association, Korea Entertainment Producers Association, Korea Entertainment Management Association, Korea Management Federation, and Korea Music Label Industry Association, jointly called for "a non-discriminatory military service system for popular culture artists."
They refuted claims that popular culture artists don't need to be included in the arts/sports personnel category because of their commercial activities, arguing that many professional athletes and artists also earn no less than popular culture artists. They emphasized, "The government and industry can collaborate and discuss to establish adequate selection criteria for popular culture artists as arts/sports personnel."
Most insiders now see the debate on military service exemptions for popular culture artists as essentially concluded. One insider noted, "While there is agreement that the law shouldn't have been just for BTS, if it couldn't even apply to a representative figure like BTS, the likelihood of revisiting this discussion and passing legislation in the future seems very slim."
