The controversy surrounding military exemptions for some national athletes participating in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was a major topic during the national assembly audit. While calls were made for the complete abolition of the related system, the Korean Sports Council expressed concerns about the potential impact on amateur athletes who work hard for their sport, advocating for a cautious approach.
During the audit held on October 21 by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, lawmakers from both sides criticized the military benefits system for Asian Games gold medalists.
Im O-kyung, a member of the Democratic Party, pointed out the behavior and lack of national pride exhibited by some players on the soccer team, including Park Seung-soo, Yang Min-hyeok, and Lee Gi-hyeok. She stated, "Amateur athletes train tirelessly to wear the Taegeuk mark, yet professional athletes participated in the Asian Games for personal gain, inciting public outrage. The military exemption for the Asian Games should be abolished." She further suggested that participation in the Asian Games should be limited to players from the second or third divisions.
Im also questioned Yoo Seung-min, president of the Korean Sports Council, about whether an ethics committee meeting had been convened regarding the public backlash. Yoo responded, "We continue to conduct ethics and education training for each sport. We provide detailed guidelines before competitions. However, it is true that there were limitations since baseball and soccer are not sports that stay in the athletes' village."
Im remarked, "The sportsmanship displayed at the Asian Games was the worst of the worst," urging the Korean Sports Council to hold an ethics committee meeting and initiate disciplinary procedures against the problematic sports and athletes.
In response, Yoo agreed to take action but expressed caution regarding the complete abolition of military exemptions. He acknowledged the need for overall improvement of the military benefits system but noted, "We must approach this carefully, considering that some professional athletes' actions could deprive opportunities for other athletes." He emphasized the importance of reflecting the voices of amateur athletes, stating, "I believe it should be appropriately revised overall."
The issue of imbalance among sports within the Military Sports Unit (Sangmu), which allows athletes to fulfill their military duties while continuing their sports careers, was also raised. Yoon Yong-geun, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out that the quota for summer sports athletes assigned to the Military Sports Unit is 322 across 24 sports, while only four athletes are allocated for one winter sport. He questioned whether such a disparity could be considered reasonable.
Lee Sun-young, director of the Sports Department at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replied, "We have been in practical discussions with the Ministry of National Defense since August. The Ministry of National Defense's position is that summer sports have the necessary facilities, while winter sports do not."
Yoo also stated, "We are exploring various methods and will promote the enlistment of winter sports athletes more responsibly."
In addition to the military exemption controversy, the audit also saw criticism of the overall administrative issues within the sports sector. Kim Seok-ki, a member of the People Power Party, highlighted that a budget of 125 million won for the construction of recovery facilities for disabled athletes in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, was not reflected at all, stating, "We are asked to represent Korea in international competitions, yet there is a lack of interest because they are disabled."
Other issues raised included allegations of favoritism in the Sports Ethics Center, embezzlement of government subsidies by the Korea Baseball Softball Association, inadequate responses from the Korean Sports Council regarding the incident involving the leakage of live ammunition at the Jincheon Athletes' Village, and conflicts over the integration of the Jeonnam and Gwangju Sports Councils.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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