K-pop star convicted of violating military service law
The member of K-pop band Winner was given a suspended prison sentence for repeated absences from his national service work.
K-pop star convicted of violating military service law
A South Korean court has given K-pop singer Song Min-ho a suspended one-year prison term after finding him guilty of breaking the country’s military service law.
The 33-year-old member of the boy band Winner was found to have been absent on multiple occasions from a community centre in Seoul, where he worked as a social worker from 2023 to 2024.
All able-bodied men in South Korea must complete at least 18 months of military service. However, some are instead assigned to social service roles for health reasons.
The prison sentence issued on Thursday is suspended for two years. That means he can avoid jail if he commits no crime during that two-year probation period.
The court heard that Song, who is also known by his stage name Mino, had logged 102 unauthorised absences during his 21-month period as a social service agent.
Military service is a duty that must be carried out "faithfully", and social service agents are "no exception", the court said.
The court also said Song had admitted the charges and expressed remorse.
Authorities opened an investigation into Song soon after he was discharged in 2024, after local media reported that he had often missed his social service duties and taken excessive sick leave.
Song’s supervisor at the social service centre also received a suspended jail sentence for helping him avoid his duties, including falsifying records to make it appear that Song had shown up for work.
The conscription of South Korea’s entertainers has long been a subject of national public debate.
Gangnam Style singer Psy famously had to enlist twice, once in 2003 and again in 2007, after a Seoul court ruled that he had neglected his duties by continuing his showbiz activities during his first national service stint.
Steve Yoo, one of the country’s biggest pop stars in the 1990s and early 2000s, became embroiled in a national scandal after he was found to have evaded military service in 2002. South Korean authorities barred him from the country after he renounced his citizenship and became a US national shortly before he was due to serve in the military.
Taking a hiatus to serve in the military is often seen as a threat to emerging careers in South Korea’s fast-moving entertainment industry. But avoiding military service also brings intense public scrutiny and legal consequences.
Before Thursday’s ruling, Song told reporters that he regretted what he had done and was "sorry toward the people who gave me so much love", Seoul Economic Daily reported.
However, he did not respond to a question about whether he would re-enlist to fulfil the mandatory duty.