Defense ministry reluctant to exempt WBC players from armed service

(ATTN: ADDS details, background on exemption in paras 7-9, last para; CORRECTS
requirements for exemption in para 5)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, March 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense ministry balked Tuesday at
suggestions to exempt four South Korean baseball players who participated in the
World Baseball Classic (WBC) from mandatory military service at home.
"This isn't something that can be instantly determined based on winning or
losing," Won Tae-jae, spokesman at the Ministry of National Defense, told
reporters.
South Korea lost 5-3 in the WBC final to Japan in Los Angeles on Monday (local
time).
By law, four members of the South Korean WBC squad, including Choo Shin-soo of
the Cleveland Indians, are subject to at least two years of compulsory armed
service. Draft dodgers can be punished with a prison term of up to five years.
The law allows exceptions if a player or his team wins an Asian Games gold or at
least a bronze medal at the Olympics.
A number of South Koreans, including Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Park Chan-ho,
have benefited from the exceptions.
A ruling party lawmaker said this week that he plans to push for a revision of
the conscription law so that players who reach WBC finals are added to those who
are eligible for exemption.
South Korea had allowed similar exemptions when the WBC was inaugurated in 2006,
when the country was eliminated by Japan in the semifinals but its players were
still relieved of armed service.
Won said,"There has been no change in the stance of the defense ministry (on
whether the ministry could support restoring the expanded exceptions)."
South Korea has 655,000 troops, faced with North Korea's 1.2 million soldiers, as
the sides ended their 1950-53 Korean War with a truce rather than a peace treaty.
Draft dodging is considered a disgrace in South Korea even though the service has
been the target of repeated criticism among liberals for its forcefulness.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)