Male Celebrities Who Have Criminal Charges Will No Longer Be Allowed To Seek Asylum In The Military

On June 28, it was revealed that there would be changes taking place in the second half of 2021 in regards to the mandatory military service.

Unrelated photo used for illustrative purposes | Cheonji Ilbo

According to reports made by Insight, The Ministry of Strategy and Finance shared that, “starting on the 14th of July, if military service officers have ongoing criminal investigations, their enlistment dates may be postponed if requested by the head of their investigation agencies.” This is only applicable to those who are involved in criminal acts that is punishable by imprisonment.

It was further reported that if the head of the investigation does request for the postponement of someone’s enlistment date, they will be granted a postponement of up to 1 year to investigate the crime.

Former BIGBANG member Seungri on his enlistment day | Hankyung

This new change was revealed to have been made following the enlistment timing of numerous male celebrities who were previously arrested on criminal charges. Former BIGBANG member Seungri and actor Lee Seo Won are just two of the many male stars that have allegedly sought “asylum” in their mandatory military service as an attempt to avoid their ongoing investigations.

Seungri enlisted into his mandatory military service in the midst of his ongoing Burning Sun scandal, while Lee Seo Won also quietly enlisted into his service during his ongoing sexual assault and intimidation investigation.

Former BIGBANG member Seungri (left) and former actor Lee Seo Won (right) | Yonhap News, News1

In the case of future males who may have criminal investigations, an additional criminal charge will be added onto their case if they try to seek refuge in their mandatory military service as an attempt to avoid their investigation.