Six in 10 Koreans are in favor of exempting from military service pop artists like BTS who have contributed to the promotion of national prestige.
The discussion of BTS’ military service has been spotlighted again after members of the transition committee of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol visited HYBE, which manages BTS and other artists, last April 2.
BTS have been credited for helping in promoting the image of South Korea abroad in addition to the economic effects of their popularity.
Under Korea’s law, all qualified men are required to fulfill their military service by enlisting by age 28.
BTS have postponed their military service up to 30 years old through a revision of the law that was passed in December 2020 and took effect in June 2021. The law allows outstanding pop culture artists to postpone the start of their military service until they reach 30 years old.
If no new law is passed exempting outstanding pop artists like BTS from military service, Jin, the oldest member, will have to enlist by December this year.
Gallup Korea held a survey from April 5 to 7 among 1,004 respondents aged 18 and above in South Korea.
The respondents were asked, “In Korea, there is a special system that exempts or replaces military service obligations for artists, sportsmen, and professional research/industrial skilled personnel who have contributed to the promotion of national prestige. Recently, there is an argument that popular artists such as BTS should be included in the special military service exception. What do you think about this?”
Of the 1,004 respondents, 59 percent, or 6 out of 10, agreed that outstanding pop artists like BTS should be exempted from military service while 33 percent, or 3 out of 10, disagreed, and 8 percent, 1 of out of 10, said they did not know or refused to respond to the survey.
A bill about giving an alternative service to BTS and other pop artists is pending in the National Assembly and lawmakers talked about reviewing it.
"Since it is a matter related to fairness and national interest, I don't think there will be any disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties," said Rep. Sung Il-jong of the People Power Party, Yonhap News reported.
BTS members previously said they were ready to fulfill their military service.
In Las Vegas, Jin told Korean media that he has left the issue of his military service to HYBE.
"I talked a lot about the issue with the company and decided to entrust it to the company as much as possible. So I can say what the company said is what I said," he said.
HYBE officials held a press conference in Las Vegas and talked about BTS’ military service.
“We’re very cautious on speaking about the military enlistment issue as we know how important it is in South Korea. One thing we’d like to say is that the artists have left everything about the issue in the hands of the company right now,” said Lee Jin-hyung, HYBE’s chief communication director, the Korea Herald reported.
He added, “They have repeatedly stated in the past that they will serve their duty and that part has not changed. But since 2020, the conscription system has been changing, shifting in a way that the members had not expected. And since the revision of the Military Service Act had been proposed earlier this year, the artists have left all related decision-making in the company’s hands.”
According to Lee, BTS “members themselves are finding it difficult to deal with the issue as it is impossible to predict the exact point of enlistment and this troubles them as they try to make plans. The firm and the artists are following the issue very closely, and we will try our best so that it ends in a direction that benefits both the artists and our society.”
He urged Korean lawmakers to resolve it.
“As it’s an issue getting international attention, we believe the discussion has progressed far enough inside the society and at the National Assembly. We hope it gets decided within this term of the National Assembly, as if it is passed to the next, this endless discussion will continue, and such uncertainty is weighing on us, to be candid. Hopefully, the matter gets concluded promptly,” he said.
BTS will hold the last day of their "BTS Permission to Dance on Stage-Las Vegas" on April 16 (April 17 in the Philippines).