Ahn Cheol-soo: “Scrap military exemptions for gold medalists starting with this Asian Games ... President Lee just has to make the decision”

[Financial News] Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, raised his voice, saying, “It’s time to do away with the Asian Games’ ‘military exemption for gold medalists’” and “President Lee Jae-myung just has to make the decision.”

On the 7th, Ahn made the claim in a post on Facebook, his social media account, saying, “Eligibility for assignment as arts and sports personnel is stipulated in Article 68-11 of the Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act (‘Persons with special talents in the fields of arts and sports as prescribed by Presidential Decree’), so the special military exemption for gold medalists can be eliminated simply by revising the Presidential Decree, without deliberation in the National Assembly.”
He stressed, “When he was a presidential candidate in 2021, President Lee said amid the controversy over special military-service exemptions for BTS, ‘In the interest of fairness, it would be best to exercise as much restraint as possible in granting exemptions.’ Now he must show that he will keep that promise through action.”
Ahn asked rhetorically, “ ‘Protecting athletes’ careers’ is cited as grounds for the special exemption, but career interruption is a problem that all young people in this country face equally. Don’t the young service members standing guard and conducting search missions on the front lines even now naturally want to work and build their careers, too?”
He urged that “the enforcement decree be revised as soon as possible and the military exemption for gold medalists be ended, starting with this Asian Games, which has sparked controversy.”
The controversy erupted after South Korea’s men’s soccer team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games beat Japan 1-0 on the 3rd, securing an unprecedented fourth consecutive Asian Games title in men’s soccer. Twenty players, excluding the three who had completed their military service, will receive military-service benefits after winning gold.

In a post-match interview, Yang Min-hyeok said, “The medal and the title weren’t important. Since exemption from military service was the reward, I played the match with only that in mind.” Team captain Lee Gi-hyeok also held up the gold medal and said, “I’m not going to the military,” while Park Seung-soo posted on social media a photo of himself wearing what is known as a military-discharge cap in the locker room.
The next day, Ahn wrote on Facebook, “A national team soccer squad boasting that it won’t serve in the military—is the military something to be despised? Are soldiers who lose an ankle for their country fools?” He added, “It is deeply dismaying that this is the mindset of players who wear the national flag as members of the national team.”
He went on, “Are the countless young people who enlist every year all suckers?” He pointed out, “A few days ago, a service member lost an ankle to a North Korean landmine on the western front. Talk of serving the country should be made in the context of sacrifices like this.” He added, “Many athletes win titles and gold medals without a military exemption,” and criticized the idea, saying, “A military exemption for national team players who bring disgrace on the country and despise the military is utterly unjustifiable.”
As the controversy spread, the players apologized one after another. After returning to South Korea, Lee Gi-hyeok apologized, saying, “As the team captain, I should have considered the weight of every word I said,” and “I sincerely apologize to everyone currently fulfilling their duty of national defense.”
Park Seung-soo also wrote on social media, “I sincerely apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable because of my actions,” and explained that he had received the cap from a fan at the venue. However, he added, “I was so happy and overwhelmed that I didn’t think carefully about what the cap meant,” and wrote, “I never intended to mock those fulfilling their duty of national defense or to take their hard work lightly.”
Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, also said at a wrap-up press conference that the remarks “did not align with public sentiment” and that he would explore ways to ensure national team athletes express themselves with dignity.
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