SEOUL — Amid growing controversy surrounding remarks made by national football players following the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, South Korea's Ministry of Defense announced plans to gradually downscale and ultimately abolish the supplementary military service system, which includes arts and sports exemptions.

During a parliamentary audit held by the National Assembly's Defense Committee on October 7, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul responded to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Yong-won regarding the future of the exemption system.

"Our goal is to progressively reduce military service exemptions and ultimately abolish the system," Minister Kang stated.

Addressing the recent controversial comments and social media posts by members of the national football team, Kang added, "I deeply regret any remarks that undermine the sacred duty of national defense."

The controversy erupted after several players openly spoke about military exemptions following their gold medal win at the Asian Games.

Forward Yang Min-hyuk remarked after the victory, "Medals and trophies aren't what mattered; I think we played solely with our eyes on military exemption."

Additionally, player Park Seung-soo uploaded a photo to social media wearing a mock military discharge hat (jeonyeokmo) in the locker room, while team captain Lee Ki-hyuk made remarks implying that the gold medal freed them from mandatory military service.

The players' statements triggered a swift backlash within political circles, intensifying calls to overhaul or scrap the arts and sports military exemption program altogether.

A day prior, Ministry of Defense Spokesperson Jeong Bit-na stated during a regular briefing on October 6 that the government would "comprehensively consider fairness and equity among conscripts, the declining pool of available military resources, and overall public consensus."

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