“Turned into a means of personal gain for pro athletes”... Calls to abolish Asian Games military service exemptions spread at parliamentary audit

Lim Ohkyung: "After a crushing defeat to Japan's corporate-league team, eligibility should go to second- and third-division leagues"
President Yoo Seungmin: "A cautious approach is needed to avoid disadvantaging amateur athletes"

At the National Assembly’s audit of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and other organizations by the Committee on Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 21st, lawmakers from both parties sharply criticized shortcomings and dysfunction across sports administration, including calls to abolish the military service benefit for Asian Games gold medalists.

The central issue at the audit was whether professional athletes should be eligible for special military service benefits. Rep. Lim Ohkyung of the Democratic Party of Korea opened the debate by calling for a complete overhaul of the benefits awarded to professional athletes who win gold medals at the Asian Games. “Amateur athletes practice until they are exhausted just to wear the national team uniform, while professional athletes competed at the Asian Games for personal gain and provoked public outrage,” Lim said. “The military service exemption for Asian Games gold medalists should be abolished.”

Lim intensified her criticism by citing the baseball team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The team, made up of professional players, suffered a 0-5 defeat to Japan, whose roster consisted entirely of corporate-league players, in the first game of the Super Round. The teams met again in the final, where South Korea won 3-1. “The professional players suffered the humiliation of a crushing defeat to Japan’s corporate-league players,” Lim said. “Eligibility to compete in Asian Games events featuring professional players should rightfully be given to second- and third-division leagues.” She added, “There needs to be a rigorous process for the sports that caused this problem. Even now, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee should convene its ethics committee and hold a disciplinary committee hearing for the athletes in the sport.”

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Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yoo Seungmin said, “We will do that,” indicating that follow-up measures would begin. However, he maintained that the proposed abolition of the special military service benefit itself required a cautious approach. “We need to be extremely careful about stripping all athletes of a benefit because of the actions of a few professional players,” Yoo said. “We should also give balanced consideration to the many amateur athletes who work and sweat on the field while training with the hope of receiving this military service benefit, and revise the system appropriately.”

Questions were also raised about fairness in military service. Rep. Yoon Yonggeun of the People Power Party said, “While the military service benefit is under scrutiny, the number of places available by sport for enlistment in the Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Sangmu), which allows athletes to continue competing while serving their military service, is severely imbalanced.” According to Yoon, the Corps has 322 places for athletes across 24 summer sports, but only four places in a single winter sport. “Can this disparity really be considered reasonable administration?” he asked.

Allegations of ethical lapses and preferential treatment at organizations affiliated with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee also came under scrutiny. Rep. Noh Jongmyeon of the Democratic Party of Korea disclosed allegations that Cha Myeongju, a director of the Sports Ethics Center and a former member of the national baseball team who played for the Lotte Giants, Doosan Bears, and Hanwha Eagles, had steered contracts to a particular company. “Since Cha took office, he has steered service contracts to Sports Science Lab, a company whose CEO is his spouse,” Noh said. “The company secured four contracts in 2024 and 2025.”

The neglect of disability sports and inadequate support also drew strong criticism. Rep. Kim Seokki of the People Power Party criticized the failure to fund a recovery facility for athletes at the training center for athletes with disabilities in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. “We requested KRW 125 million to build the facility, but not a single won was included in the budget,” Kim said. “While athletes are encouraged to represent South Korea at international competitions and enhance the country’s standing, they are denied even the minimum attention simply because they have disabilities.” He called for better conditions at facilities serving athletes with disabilities, who have been left behind.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.