Fans again demand military service exemption for BTS
Posted : 2021-07-23 08:53
By Yoon Ja-young
Following the recent appointment of chartbusting boy band BTS as a presidential special envoy for public diplomacy, voices are growing louder among fans that its members should be exempt from mandatory military service.
On the Cheong Wa Dae website, a BTS fan submitted a petition demanding that all BTS members be exempted from the duty when considering the stars' contributions to Korea, including their efforts to improve the country's global image.
In the petition posted July 16, the petitioner pointed out that the group currently has had four songs that topped the Billboard charts, with its new song "Permission to Dance" still surging on the chart. The Military Manpower Administration, however, already decided to allow only a delay in their enlistment. The petitioner claimed the treatment for the stars is unfair, given that there are cases in which some athletes won the privilege "by only sitting on the bench."