Ballplayers Get Army Service Waivers

The 11 players on the Korean national baseball team who have yet to serve their military service will be given special exemptions as a reward for the team’s advancement to the semifinals in the first World Baseball Classic (WBC) with a record of six wins and no losses.

The government and ruling Uri Party made the decision at a government conference held on the morning of March 17 with Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung and lawmaker Kim Han-gil. The players will go through a four-week basic training program and will finish their military service after working as a baseball player or coach for three years.

The government also plans to revise the enforcement decree of its military service act in an upcoming special session in April. Article 49 of the current military service enforcement law states that special exemptions are to be given to those who place at least third in the Olympics, win a gold medal in the Asian Games, or advance to the round of 16 in the World Cup.

The 11 players on the national squad to be exempted include overseas players Choi Hee-seop (LA Dodgers), Kim Sun-woo (Colorado Rockies) and Bong Jung-keun (Cincinnati Reds), along with domestic players Bae Young-soo (Samsung), Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung), Kim Tae-kyun (Hanhwa), Jun Byung-doo (Kia), Chung Jae-hun (Doosan), Lee Jin-young (SK), Lee Bum-ho (Hanhwa) and Jeong Seong-hoon (Hyundai).

However, this issue is raising controversy as it was discovered that two out of the 11 were indicted in 2004 for attempting to dodge military service. Accordingly, the Military Manpower Administration held an emergency brainstorming meeting and decided to include the two in the exemption.

taewon_ha@donga.com