South Korea to review athlete military exemptions after Asian Games controversy
On 7 October 2026, South Korea's government said it would review the military service exemptions awarded to athletes after criticism over three South Korean footballers who celebrated winning the Asian Games final against hosts Japan; Culture, Sports and Tourism minister Choi Hwi-young announced the review.
South Korean competitors won 39 golds, 43 silvers and 68 bronze medals at this year's Asian Games, and the government currently exempts Asian Games gold medallists and Olympic medallists finishing third or better from full military service while requiring South Korean men to undertake between 18 and 21 months of active service before the age of 28. The exemption requires recipients to complete basic training, which lasts less than a month, and more than 80% of the benefits are concentrated in the Asian Games.
The immediate controversy followed South Korea's victory over hosts Japan in the football final, where three players were criticised for celebrating what was seen as securing military exemptions; South Korea captain Lee Gi-hyuk held up his gold medal and triumphantly announced he was "not going to the military". Lee later apologised for his remarks.
Choi Hwi-young said he would "review" the exemption and described Lee's comments as "utterly immature", adding that the system, which has been in place for more than 50 years, "will inevitably have to be scaled back".
At a National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hearing Choi said: "It is true that the system has contributed to helping outstanding artists and athletes maintain and develop their abilities."
Cho Kye-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, questioned Choi about the incident and said it "left young people with a serious sense of unfairness"; Cho noted that the current system grants exemptions only to Olympic medallists finishing third or better and to Asian Games gold medallists, suggested that winning a world championship in any sport is harder than winning the Asian Games while world champions receive no service benefit, and added: "Of the 44 people who qualified for the benefit at this Asian Games, 36 were in soccer and baseball."
"However, the values attached to fairness and public perceptions of military service have changed. I agree that the system should be comprehensively reviewed once again," Choi said, confirming that a formal review of the athlete exemption policy will take place.
