National team player boasted, “I won’t serve in the military”—could he also get special housing allocation for a 2.3 billion-won apartment? Fairness row flares up [What do you think?]

[Financial News] A controversy over military-service-related remarks and conduct by some members of the men’s national soccer team who won gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games is now fueling debate over fairness in special housing allocations for medalists.
According to online communities and social media on the 7th, public opinion is growing that it is excessive to grant international competition medalists eligibility for special apartment allocations on top of military-service exemptions and pensions, after it emerged that they may qualify for “special housing allocations for outstanding athletes.”
User A shared a photo showing Park Seung-su’s military discharge cap and wrote, “By winning a gold medal, he became eligible for a special allocation when applying for an apartment.”
A added, “I don’t see why apartments should also be allocated on a priority basis just because they brought glory to the country,” and argued, “Winning a medal is a personal honor. How is that bringing glory to the country?”
A also posted a list of 13 major apartment complexes in Seoul, saying they had been supplied under the benefit.
Under the current Rules on Housing Supply, people who place third or higher at major international competitions such as the Olympics and Asian Games are eligible for institution-recommended special allocations in national housing and private housing with an exclusive area of 85 square meters or less. Allocations have in fact been made at popular complexes, including Olympic Park Foreon in Gangdong-gu, Seoul (10 units in 2022).
However, the list of complexes circulating online contains some inaccuracies. A check found that units for outstanding athletes were allocated at some complexes, including Olympic Park Foreon (10 units in 2022) and Godeok Gangil Jeil Pungyeongchae (five units in 2021). But allocation records could not be confirmed for many complexes; the recruitment notice for Jamsil Raemian I-Park, for example, did not even include a category for outstanding athletes.
Moreover, eligibility for a special allocation does not guarantee a successful application. Applicants must meet basic requirements, such as not owning a home, and receive a recommendation from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. They must compete for limited units against other institution-recommended applicants, including people of national merit and people with disabilities. In a 2021 pre-subscription round in the Seoul metropolitan area, just four of the 4,333 homes were allocated to outstanding athletes.
Nevertheless, most people online continued to express intense anger. Many called it “an anachronistic privilege” to grant special apartment allocations in addition to military-service exemptions, and urged a complete overhaul of the system, saying, “These opportunities should go to the families of military personnel, police officers and firefighters who died in the line of duty.”
Criticism of Park Seung-su also poured in, with some saying, “It’s beyond common sense for him to receive a military-service exemption after playing only a few minutes and then qualify for a special apartment allocation as well.”
Others struck a more cautious note, saying, “The actual number of units allocated is extremely small, and many go unsold because of the burden of the sale price,” and adding, “Regardless of whether the system needs improvement, we should be wary of indiscriminate criticism of individual athletes.”


[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter