South Korea’s government says it intends to review the military exemptions it grants athletes after the controversy surrounding South Korean footballers at the Asian Games.

Following their win against hosts Japan in the final, three players were criticised for celebrating securing their exemptions, including South Korea captain Lee Gi-hyuk.

South Korean men are required to undertake between 18 and 21 months of active military service before the age of 28.

Lee apologised for his remarks, but Culture, Sports and Tourism minister Choi Hwi-young says he will “review” the exemption.

Choi called Lee’s comments “utterly immature” and said the system, which has been in place for more than 50 years, “will inevitably have to be scaled back”.

South Korean captain Lee sparked outrage in his home country when he held up his gold medal and triumphantly announced he was “not going to the military”.

The government rewards Asian Games champions and Olympic medal winners of any colour with a service exemption bar basic training, which lasts less than a month.

“It is true that the system has contributed to helping outstanding artists and athletes maintain and develop their abilities,” Choi said at a National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hearing.

“However, the values attached to fairness and public perceptions of military service have changed. I agree that the system should be comprehensively reviewed once again.”

Cho Kye-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, questioned Choi on the topic and said the incident “left young people with a serious sense of unfairness”.

The current system grants exemptions only to Olympic medallists finishing third or better and to Asian Games gold medallists, and more than 80% of those benefits are concentrated in the Asian Games.

He suggested winning a world championship in any sport is harder than winning the Asian Games, yet world champions in other sports receive no service benefit.

“Of the 44 people who qualified for the benefit at this Asian Games, 36 were in soccer and baseball,” Cho said. (BBC)

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