Busan mayor urges presidential office to consider alternative military service for BTS

BTS members pose in front of cameras after being appointed as ambassadors for Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo on July 18 at their agency HYBE in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [NEWS1]

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon took the matter of BTS’s looming mandatory military service to the presidential office in central Seoul, according to Busan Metropolitan City Thursday.

According to Busan, the mayor asked the presidential office to strongly review an exemption for the global K-pop stars and come up with the framework for alternative service.

In Korea, all able-bodied young men are required to serve around two years in the military.

Jin, the oldest member of the boy band, faces enlistment by December.

Under the current military conscription law, prominent figures in arts and sports fields such as Olympic and Asian Games medalists and globally recognized, award-wining classical musicians are legally exempt from their military duties. However, the current law does not include pop culture figures.

The city explained that BTS, which serves as the promotional ambassador for the 2030 World Expo in Busan, will play a critical role “beyond imagination,” in winning the bid to host the event.

At a press conference held to mark President Yoon Suk-yeol’s first 100 days in office Wednesday, the president promised his full commitment to win the Busan World Expo bid for 2030, saying that “an expo is where countries can most effectively advertise their products.”

“We are not saying that BTS should be given preferential favor of exempting them from military service,” Park said. “[However], if the group does receive alternative service, they will be bestowed with national responsibility that does not fall short of their mandatory military duties. They will be serving the country in a way that only they will be able to and are capable of.

“[I] know the symbolic significance of what military duty in Korea holds,” he continued. “But please consider the sincerity of a Busan citizen who sincerely longs for the successful bid of 2030 Busan World Expo and for the future of the city.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]