Globally, many countries have joined the trend of putting an end to large armies and instead focusing on a core of professional soldiers. Despite this trend, the topic remains controversial in many countries. Proponents of national service argue that it is necessary for maintaining national security, whilst opponents argue that the policy is a waste of government funds. South Korea should consider abolishing conscription due to its inherent problems.

Modern warfare does not require an overwhelming force in numbers to win wars. Conscription was traditionally used to increase the number of people in the population who know how to use weapons to increase the size of the armed forces. The result is not an elite force but a ragtag force with little professionalism, which called everyone who can hold weapons to the armed forces. Therefore, having a huge military might be preferable, but it is not necessary.

Another issue would be the exemptions to national military service, according to the Military Service Act, the Commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration may transfer persons with a specialty in the field of arts or sports to arts and sports personnel. This law would mean that those part of the arts and sports personnel would be exempt from serving in the military but would only be required to participate in a four-week basic military training program. Promoting a policy like this makes it seem as if the value of people is different even in principle. Even if this is so in practice, as a country with an institutionalized democratic system we should not promote this in principle as it goes against the notion that everyone is equal.

The draft exemption given to these people can be considered as an unfair privilege. Exemption is given to athletes and artists in that they have elevated the nation’s reputation. Although winning a prize at an international level can be regarded as part of the nation’s pride, there are different interpretations of this idea. For instance, it is questionable whether a win at an international competition is a benefit that positively influences the nation as a whole or is merely an individual achievement. That is, the justification to give a privilege to national duty for personal achievement in one’s career is not fully supported.

Furthermore, there are no clear standards to the list of competitions and prize rankings that allow a chance for this privilege. In fact, this list has been influenced by the public’s opinion several times, resulting in amendments of the law in 1984, 1990, 2002, 2006, and 2007. According to Maeil Business Newspaper, after the South Korean soccer team reached the round of 16 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, there was a strong public sentiment to give the players on the national soccer team the privilege to be exempt from military services, which was then supported by the government.

Likewise, the ambiguous interpretations of military service privileges do not support the value of equality. Exemption to the draft, therefore, only serves to make a privileged class that does not have to spend the mandatory 18 months of service within the armed forces. While conscription will remain to be a controversial issue in South Korea for as long as it exists, national service needs re-examination and some amendments, which can be done more properly by removing this unfair system itself.