首尔：韩国国防部周二（10月6日）表示，由于该国亚运会足球队多名球员的行为引发舆论不满，政府正在考虑缩减或取消对优秀运动员及艺术家的兵役豁免政策。
SEOUL: South Korea is considering scaling back or scrapping military service exemptions for elite athletes and artists, its defence ministry said on Tuesday (Oct 6), after the conduct of several players on its Asian Games football squad sparked a backlash.
10月3日，韩国队在爱知县名古屋举行的决赛中以1比0击败日本队，连续第四次夺得亚运会男子足球冠军。由此，队中23名球员中有20人获得了免除常规兵役的资格。然而，这场胜利很快便被部分球员的不当言论所掩盖。
South Korea defeated Japan 1-0 in the Oct 3 final in Aichi-Nagoya, securing its fourth straight Asiad men’s football crown and making 20 of its 23 players eligible to avoid conventional military service. But the triumph was quickly overshadowed by controversy over some players’ remarks.
在赛后的新闻发布会上，26岁的队长李基赫举着金牌宣称：“我不用去服兵役了。”
At a post-match press conference, team captain Lee Gi-hyuk, 26, held up his gold medal while declaring: "I'm not going to the military".
20岁的队友杨敏赫也在赛后采访中表示，自己一心只想着获得兵役豁免，而非赢得奖牌或奖杯。
His teammate Yang Min-Hyeok, 20, also said in a post-match interview that he had been focused solely on securing a military service exemption - rather than winning a medal or trophy.
另一名19岁的球员朴承洙则曾在社交平台上发布一张自己戴着“退伍帽”的照片，该照片现已删除。在遭到公众批评后，这三名球员均已公开道歉。
Another player, Park Seung-soo, 19, posted a since-deleted photo of himself wearing a cap typically worn by people who have completed their mandatory military service. All three players have subsequently apologised amid public criticism.
根据韩国的征兵制度，身体健康的男性通常需服18至21个月的兵役。
Under South Korea’s conscription system, able-bodied men are generally required to serve between 18 and 21 months in the military.
不过法律也规定，奥运会奖牌得主、亚运会金牌得主以及部分获奖艺术家可免除常规兵役。
But the law allows Olympic medallists and Asiad gold medallists, as well as certain award-winning artists, to avoid conventional service.
即便符合豁免条件，这些人仍需接受为期三周的基础训练，并在34个月内完成544小时的社区服务。韩国国防部周二透露，目前正在重新评估此类豁免政策。
Those who qualify must still undergo three weeks of basic training and complete 544 hours of community service over 34 months. The South Korean defence ministry said on Tuesday that it was reviewing the future of such arrangements.
据韩联社报道，国防部发言人郑彬娜在例行记者会上称：“我们计划最终缩减或取消包括针对运动员和艺术家在内的各类补充性兵役措施，并将此内容纳入国防改革的基本方案之中。”
"Ultimately, we have plans to cut back or scrap the supplementary service, including one designed for artists and athletes, and reflect it in the basic outline for defence reforms," defence ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said during a regular press briefing, as reported by Yonhap.
该部门表示，此次审查将考虑包括公众意见、公平性以及国家适龄服役男性人口减少等因素。但未明确具体时间表。
The ministry said the review would take into account factors including public opinion, fairness and the country’s shrinking pool of military-age men. It did not specify a timeline.
2024年5月14日，在韩国龙仁市第55步兵师新兵训练中心，新入伍的韩国士兵在入伍仪式上敬礼。豁免制度长期以来备受争议，批评者对其标准提出质疑。
New South Korean conscripts salute during their entrance ceremony to join the military service at a recruit training centre of the 55th Infantry Division in Yongin on May 14, 2024. The exemption system has long been controversial, with critics questioning its criteria.
这一争论曾在2022年因韩国超级流行团体防弹少年团（BTS）而再度升温。该团体的全球成功引发了为其成员提供类似豁免的呼声。然而，韩国流行音乐明星并不符合该计划的条件。
The debate previously flared in 2022 over K-pop supergroup BTS, whose global success prompted calls for the members to receive similar exemptions. K-pop stars do not qualify under the scheme.
该团体七名成员中有六名曾在军队服役，而闵玧其（Suga）则以社会服务要员身份完成了替代性兵役。七人已于2025年6月全部完成服役。
Six of the group’s seven members served in the army, while Suga fulfilled his duty as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service. All seven completed their service by June 2025.