‘Pro Baseball Controversy Again’ After Receiving Military Service Exemption for Asian Games Gold... A Staggering ‘10 Out of 19’ Engaged in Unauthorized Commercial Activities: ‘Is There Really No Sense of Awareness?’

*This content was translated by AI.

Although they represented the nation and won gold medals at the Asian Games, baseball has particularly been met with unfavorable scrutiny. While the players likely knew this, it was revealed that athletes who benefited from military service exemptions received warning measures for actions lacking a sense of awareness.

According to NEWS1, materials submitted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to Jo Eun-hui (Rep.) of the National Assembly’s Committee on Culture, Sports and Tourism show that violations of service regulations by sports personnel totaled 42 cases from 2022 through August this year.

The main content reveals that 17 athletes who were enrolled as arts and sports personnel and received military service exemptions for winning gold medals at the Asian Games engaged in corporate advertising or sponsorship activities without permission during their service period, resulting in warning measures for violating the Military Service Act.

Among these, unauthorized concurrent employment accounted for 22 cases, with 21 sports personnel identified. This included 16 gold medalists from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago and one gold medalist from the 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games, while the remaining four were athletes enrolled as sports personnel due to their achievements at the Beijing, Tokyo, and Paris Olympics.

Contrary to a social atmosphere that values fairness and principles, the number of identified cases of unauthorized concurrent employment nearly doubled, rising from eight in 2024 to 14 last year.

Baseball accounted for the largest share among these, reaching 10 players. All were athletes enrolled as sports personnel after winning gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games. At that time, 19 players received military service exemptions for their gold medals, and more than half of them were identified for violations.

The issue arose because most of them signed sponsorship contracts with companies and generated income through advertising and promotional activities without obtaining prior permission for concurrent employment.

Sports personnel must obtain permission from their service institution before starting any other work during their service period, but they failed to properly adhere to this rule. Cases were identified where athletes continued sponsorship activities after the permission period ended or signed contracts and applied for permission only after a significant amount of time had passed.

Baseball player A, who won a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, signed a sponsorship contract with a sports goods company in March 2024 and received permission for concurrent employment for six months on the condition of wearing the company’s batting gloves and protective gear during games.

There was no issue up to that point. It can also be seen that he clearly understood the concurrent employment permission. However, the problem lay in what followed. The permission period ended in September of that year, but afterward, he received sponsorship without additionally obtaining concurrent employment permission. He submitted a renewal application only in mid-December, three months later.

There were also cases where the reported content did not match the actual sponsorship details. Baseball player B reported a sponsorship contract with a global sports brand and stated on the concurrent employment permission application that it was volunteer work with no income. However, the application also noted that he would receive products worth 8 million won annually from the company, making the statements contradictory. Nevertheless, permission was granted without issue. There were also flaws in the procedure.

In this regard, it cannot be viewed as solely B’s problem, but he received warning measures not because of the sloppy reported content, but because he failed to renew his concurrent employment approval period.

Controversy over military service exemptions based on performance at international comprehensive sports events, such as the Asian Games, has recently grown. While persuasive arguments are emerging, it is not justifiable to direct criticism of exemptions from regulations set by the state toward the athletes.

However, this controversy is not a matter of one or two days, and if they are in a situation where they must be aware of it, they should have an even greater sense of awareness regarding every action. Moreover, professional baseball has long disappointed fans with various incidents and accidents. As the season has already surpassed 12 million spectators and is preparing to set a new all-time attendance record by exceeding last year’s figures, if such controversies continue, more fans will inevitably turn their backs on the sport.

Jo (Rep.) emphasized, “In a situation where controversy over Asian Games military service exemptions is growing, if personnel fail to even adhere to minimal regulations, the arts and sports personnel system itself can only be perceived as a privilege,” adding, “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must thoroughly manage and supervise concurrent employment and revise the system to ensure sanctions commensurate with violations are implemented.”

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*This content was translated by AI.