Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- BTS members may have to complete their mandatory military duty as a government task force decided to maintain strict guidelines on conscription waivers. However, they can enjoy free overseas activities if the government adopts a flexible system for travel permission.

The task force involving the Military Manpower Administration, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism agreed not to revise guidelines on military service exemptions, the defense ministry said on Thursday, citing the shortage of resources after the early 2020s.

"In response to some requests for the need to expand the scope of including art personnel into the pop culture and arts field, based on the public consensus that many pop culture artists contribute much to promoting national prestige, we excluded them," Lee Nam-woo, head of the defense ministry's personnel and welfare office, told reporters.

Those who have not completed their military duty between the ages of 25 and 27 should obtain prior permission when they travel abroad for concerts and other activities. A single passport has been issued
up to five times. Consultations are underway in a positive way over whether to change the system.

When BTS members were decorated with glorious medals for outstanding activities to develop pop culture and spread Hallyu (Korean cultural wave) in 2018, a social debate erupted in earnest over whether they should be exempted from their Military service for enhancing the prestige and image of their homeland.

The debate went unabated this year because of the group's successful album "Map of the Soul: Persona" released in April. Since its debut in 2013, BTS has been writing a new history in South Korea's music industry.

Currently, compulsory military service is required for all able-bodied men aged between 18 and 35. The military relies heavily on a compulsory service system. Exemptions are rare, with some Olympic gold medalists are not required to serve. Fine arts have received benefits such as alternative service in non-military spots, but there are no rules regarding pop-artists.

Military service has been a sensitive topic. On November 15, Steve Yoo, a Korean-born American singer, scored a legal victory in the appeals court retrial of an administrative suit against an entry ban which was imposed 17 years ago when he acquired U.S. citizenship while working as a popular artist at his birthplace.

The High Court in Seoul nullified an earlier decision by the South Korean consulate in Los Angeles to reject an entry visa. Yoo, 42, was highly popular and one of the best-selling artists in South Korea in the late 1990s, but he was banned from visiting Seoul when he acquired US citizenship in 2002. His act was seen as improper amid criticism that his change of nationality was aimed at evading military conscription. In 2016, he launched a legal battle.