SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — A total of 984 people have been approved to substitute their mandatory military service for other public service due to their religious and other personal beliefs since a related act took office in 2019, the military manpower agency said Friday. By law, all able-bodied South Korean men must carry [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – The state troop recruitment agency said Tuesday that it will devise “reasonable” ways to improve the active-duty military service exemption program that critics say has unfairly favored athletes and artists for their onetime wins in international competitions. In its policy briefing during a parliamentary audit, the Military Manpower Administration [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — On Monday morning, many Koreans woke up to the news that K-pop boy band BTS clinched a second victory on the Billboard’s main albums chart. It’s been only three months since the group dominated the same Billboard 200 albums chart with the second of its “Love Yourself” trilogy, becoming [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Allegations of special privileges for K-pop icon Kwon Ji-yong – better known by his stage name G-Dragon – after he was hospitalized while serving military duty have escalated into a full-blown controversy. Dispatch, an online publication known for its focus on celebrities, reported that G-Dragon had been hospitalized in [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — G-Dragon, leader of K-pop group BIGBANG, will begin his military duty on Feb. 27, the group’s agency said. “G-Dragon recently received a notification for enlistment and thus will enlist in the Army as an active-duty soldier,” YG Entertainment said Wednesday. “He will quietly enter a boot camp without making [...]
SEOUL, April 19 (Korea Bizwire) – Actor Lee Min-ho will start working at the Gangnam Ward Office in southern Seoul next month as a substitute for his mandatory military service, his management agency said Wednesday. “Lee will start working there May 12 and will go through a four-week military training on dates set by the [...]