Defense committee passes bill allowing idols to defer enlistment

[rose-potion.livejournal.com]

The National Assembly's defense committee on Friday approved a bill that would allow distinguished male pop culture artists to postpone their mandatory military duties.

The committee gave its nod to the bill to revise the Military Service Act to grant an exceptional right to defer military duties of acclaimed pop artists, such as BTS, who are recognized to have contributed to the elevation of the country's global reputation.

The bill must pass parliament's plenary session for final approval.

The revision was proposed by Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the ruling Democratic Party in September after BTS became the first South Korean pop artist to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with its song "Dynamite."

"BTS members will be able to put off their enlistments until the age of 30 if this bill passes through a plenary session and a related enforcement decree is revised as well," the lawmaker said.

Under the current military law, BTS's eldest member Jin, born in 1992, is subject to enlistment by the end of the year. All able-bodied South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 28 are ordered to serve in the military for about two years for national defense against North Korea.


Military service exceptions or deferrals have been only given to international award-winning athletes and classical musicians in recognition of their roles in promoting the country's reputation overseas under the existing law.

The defense committee also approved the deployment extensions of South Korean military units in Somalia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The parliamentary committee gave its nod to the government's request to extend the overseas deployments of the anti-piracy Cheonghae unit in Somalia and the Akh special forces unit in the UAE until the end of 2021.

South Korea has deployed its 300-member Cheonghae unit off the coast of Somalia since 2009 as part of its contribution to global efforts to tackle rampant piracy in the region. The areas of its mission cover the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz.

The 150-team Akh unit has been helping train special forces in the UAE since 2011.

The overseas deployments have been renewed each year via parliamentary approval. The extensions have to be approved through plenary sessions by the National Assembly for final approval.


Source: Yonpap, photo BTS Official Twitter

Good news I guess, specially as groups weren't able to tour this year ? EXO ? SHINee ?

Comments

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

I would NOT want to be the first idol using this law to postpone enlistement even further omg

[krissasaur]

right? my first thought was "now who will be first" cause you know they are all going to be like "i respect my country so i wanna go" even tho you know they don't wanna. but public backlash will be nuts.

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Welp, they better cash in real quick then, cause the first group to uses this is dead once they return
I'd understand giving a breather to groups that weren't able to tour this year (like a one year extansion) but this is gonna make people very angry

[missshallelujah.livejournal.com]

not my place but i don't think this is going to sit well with people. i don't agree with mandatory enlistment but it's something that equates famous and privileged people to the rest of the population so if i was a korean man i would be PISSED.

if bts are the first ones to benefit from this, good luck to them trying to save face.

[imahurricane.livejournal.com]

agree with everything. this is unfair for the rest of the regular citizen.

[katheli.livejournal.com]

the thing is they already have exemptions for athletes and professional musicians, people whose careers depend on using their prime years as much as possible. So in that vein it's absolutely fair to give the same exemption to idols, the only reason Korean men get angry at them instead of footballers etc is that they don't care about idols. But I mean, prime years wise idols have a limited time span too and it's pre-30.

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

‘ i don't agree with mandatory enlistment but it's something that equates famous and privileged people to the rest of the population so if i was a korean man i would be PISSED’

I feel the same way. I have my issues with mandatory enlistment period but I’m sure if I educated myself more on Korean history I’d be more understanding (though not sure on my stance changing) but I feel uncomfortable with all of this. Honestly I think they should all enlist together, get it done with since 2 years flies by and they’ll still be plenty popular when they get out.

[theweebdream.livejournal.com]

I’m an outsider so I know in the end I really don’t know anything, but given how nationalistic SK seems, I would NOT wanna take advantage of this if I was a male idol, even if I was a BTS member. Will be interesting to see how the public reacts to this. Also I wonder what exactly is the definition of a “acclaimed pop artist” here? The standards would have to be high enough so that the public doesn’t think a group that meets them isn’t actually famous enough to take advantage of this.

[imahurricane.livejournal.com]

how are they gonna decide which acclaimed pop artists? what are the criteria? i really didn’t think they’d go through with this bill.

[yuujinchous.livejournal.com]

nah exo better not pull this shit, i need them to enlist and get this all over with as fast as possible

[ohmylol.livejournal.com]

I don't think they will, already 4 of them are enlisted and 2 of them are getting discharged soon, they know it's their time and will do it, and the backlash would be huge , i don't even think BTS will do it, they aren't stupid

[radowan.livejournal.com]

My reaction differs a bit from that of others here lmao. If anyone can boost up the country's economy when the pandemic has plunged so many into a status well below their usual numbers, they've done already a worthwhile service to their country.

[katheli.livejournal.com]

maybe the Korean government needs to come out and say, okay guys this is a recession and we don't want to lose that BTS money just now lol

[vintage-boom.livejournal.com]

are they still jailing people who refuse enlistment for ethical reasons tho?

[rose-potion.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why classical musicians are the exceptions and I don't understand how Korea made the difference between classical and more "mainstream" musicians. Musicians always want to promote their country. Is this because they can hurt themselves and not play instruments as good as before ? Because the excuse of promoting Korea, like yeah ok but aren't painters or stylists doing the same ?
Same with athletes. Some of them retire before they're 28.

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

the difference is patriarchy in my (tbh limited because i am not korean) understanding of this issue. kpop boy bands have women/girls as their target group and are not taken as seriously by the male population as classical musicians and especially athletes

but at the same time it does not feel as my place to comment on this

[dongsaengkiller.livejournal.com]

This is going to put them in a terrible position! Like others said, the government should just say they want money. All this stuff about national prestige is just going to bring all idols who use it a flood of hate. And bts will get it the worst since they’re the example being cited

[radowan.livejournal.com]

Yep!! The only way they can present this as a good thing for everyone is by highlighting how the incoming money will benefit the nation as a whole.

[snowphone.livejournal.com]

bonkers, i honestly didn't think this would really happen!

[rosiemotleymind.livejournal.com]

Wooooow yeah as much as I don’t agree with mandatory enlistment I don’t see this going over well with the general public and also with their peers who have already served.

Agreeing with the sentiment of the government should just say “they bring us money that we need” but they would never. I would not want to be in their position.

[jackieee94.livejournal.com]

Groups should just enlist all members at once. Better to go 2 years without a full group than 5-7 years.

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

Yea I know the logic is solo acts and subunits will bring in money, but stretching it out that long till the next full group comeback sort of fuels fans who only support certain members. We’ve seen member solos outgrow the group. To me the 2 years just get it done with is so much easier. Bighit has made so much money with BTS unless they made horrible business choices would be fine for 2 years. But that’s capitalism, the wealth made so far is never good enough. Just more, more, more...

[dalpaengi.livejournal.com]

I think for now bts will be ok if they take the lead in supporting this bill. They seem to be not just well received but highly respected as more than celebrities. My only worry is if one of them gets into what netizens deem as trouble they will suffer.
It makes me uncomfortable when people say bts saved Korea's economy though. I dunno but it feels racist somehow.

[radowan.livejournal.com]

I don't think anyone here at least has said that bts saved Korea's economy? Are ppl srsly claiming this elsewhere? (I wouldn't be surprised tbh, it just... would be so cringe)

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

imo bts has enough stans that will buy and stream anything they put out that they could enlist tomorrow and be fine. just put out a new pre-recorded album every 6-8 months during a group enlistment, release new shows/content regularly and bh will still rake the money in

[katheli.livejournal.com]

I think there's some legal problems with that though. I remember TOP being investigated when Flower Road came out (even though most members weren't in the military by then) bc you're not allowed to engage in additional business when you're enlisted.

[annoyedannushka.livejournal.com]

Should be 30 for all. Wasn't it before?

editing to say never mind

[ty.livejournal.com]

[aeries-amethyst.livejournal.com]

I'm both surprised and unsurprised that they are passing this bill. However, it doesn't exempt BTS from enlisting like many ARMY were hoping, it only postpones the enlistment. Though looking at it, there isn't a huge difference if they didn't pass this bill. Jin is almost 30 anyways, if anything, he'd still need to enlist next year. Plus, all of the members of BTS have already stated that they are still willing to serve regardless of this bill - which is smart, because they know postponing their service will bring them more unnecessary backlash since this is one hell of a privilege. It's more of a curse than a blessing. Any regular citizen would be discontent because this is preferential treatment for celebrities.

My biggest question is which other idols would benefit from this bill aside from BTS? What criteria would they use to determine if an idol has contributed substantially enough? The only other idols who are capable of matching BTS would be EXO since they were THE top BG for years before BTS surpassed them. Seventeen is on the come up and are on their way to top tier status, since they're comfortably behind BTS and EXO right now in terms of popularity.

[reader17.livejournal.com]

Reading this it sounds like it is just letting them postpone their enlistment. Someone in an earlier comment had mentioned this used to be 30, and I believe that was true then they lowered it by a year or two but they also lowered the amount of time they had to serve. Just let everyone postpone it to 30 like it was before!

I don't think BTS will postpone Jin's enlistment unless the pandemic is finally over and they do one last tour before he enlists. Then I could see him pushing it out a few months just to finish touring. I think it will all depend on what next year brings.

I am agreement with everyone they should all just go in at once or at least within a few months of each other so they can call come back around the same time!

[ohmylol.livejournal.com]

Allegedly if people can tour it would be until 2022/ late 2021, at least that's what the reports said at first and considering the pandemic isn't slowing down and still there isn't a vaccine and it will take time even if there is i don't think that statement is false

[ohmylol.livejournal.com]

I only care about EXO and SHINee and for me the faster they enlist the better, i would have wanted for Taemin to enlist with Key, Onew and Minho ( partly because well he released good music but SuperM) and tbh the faster exo enlist the faster they will be free and SuperM will disappear so i need that .

Shawols and EXOls are resilient, after everything that has happened a lot of them are still there so 18 months wait would be nothing but agencies are dumb .

And tbh speaking in general celebrities still get a shit ton of privilege so adding more into that would suck for the average citizen , i would be pissed

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

BTS's eldest member Jin, born in 1992, is subject to enlistment by the end of the year.

oh! I did not know they were all younger than me.