Korean Netizens Question Seo In Guk’s Military Exemption Over Alleged Untreated Physical Condition

Optics does matter in the entertainment industry, especially in quick to judgment South Korea with its strong sense of obligations, responsibilities, and social mores. One of the biggest is the duty of every able-bodied man to serve in the military, both a rite of passage and a social status equalizing performance of patriotic duty. This month SK netizens are doubly annoyed at two actors who have recently been confirmed to be exempt from service, the first being Yoo Ah In and now comes Seo In Guk. Both tried to enlist earlier this year but kept failing their physicals for different health reasons, and recently got the confirmed exemption.

It’s not that SK netizens don’t accept that there are valid physical reasons to earn an exemption, they are just very skeptical and one can’t blame them with plenty of case studies in the last two decades of famous male stars getting caught with manufactured exemption health reasons. For Seo In Guk, he’s being questioned as to whether he neglected to treat his osteochondritis condition of joint inflammation, which he has known about, so that he could use it to get exempt. His agency has denied this but I don’t know if SK netizens buy it, and ultimately if the perception lingers then it will have call a pall on his entertainment career in the near future.

Serving in the military does convey the stamp of approval from netizens and if done right buoys one’s popularity as a dutiful citizen, so I do think the trade off with two years away from working isn’t without a considerable reputational benefit at the end. With that said, I don’t know if Seo In Guk did or didn’t treat his condition prior to trying to enlist but if the netizens don’t believe him then he’s going to have an uphill battle to win back their goodwill. Same goes for Yoo Ah In.


Comments

Korean Netizens Question Seo In Guk’s Military Exemption Over Alleged Untreated Physical Condition — 17 Comments

    • Seriously you are insulting them bcz they are loving their Military more than who the person inside it yes they are too demanding but I won’t insult someone who loves their military and they don’t care about how much popular or he has fans bcz the reality they are living in emergency every day bcz north Korea .
      At the end I won’t saying fuck skills Netizen but Fuck the war , politics and stupid minds of the most .

  1. I seen netizens praised Taecyeon because he got treatment for his injury before..so..maybe his condition was not bad as Seo In Guk and Yoo Ah In.

    If I’m wrong then sorry..

  2. It’s really ridiculous. They are surely aware, the toll it takes on their career to receive in an exempt. Even with the goodwill of the netizens they will have stay out of the entertainment business for two years. So why risk a scandal at all? They are surely smarter than that after past scandals.

  3. In the long term it won’t do that much damage, Jang Hyuk and Song Seung Hun faked tests to get delays for service but still doing fine, likewise Choi Jin Hyuk’s service ended prematurely but he came back just fine with Tunnel, Park Hae Jin got an exemption on mental health grounds before he debuted and gets some bad talk but is still seen positively.

    ultimately talent and good project choices will be what determines these men’s careers post-exemption.

    • There were three person who got caught in 2004. First was SSH. You have no idea how many nicknames Song Seung Heon got in S Korea. He only survived because of his pre-military stardom (he was actually bigger than Won Bin), connections and power but he was not same after that.Go to Korean websites. Netizen seem to really hate him. Second person who got caught was Han Jae Suk. He was a big deal back then but now not much. Third was Jang Hyuk but surprisingly he is one of the least hated scandal causing celebrity in Korea. I think the reson is the way he handled the mess. I was surprised he was even invited for several military related events and appointed brand ambassdor to encourage youth to join active duty.
      So in my opinion if you know how to handle the issue than you will do fine but it you don’t you’ll be hated forever.

      • Jang Hyuk’s scandal was the reason why he joined Real Man. He was probably the least affected out of the three. I think both YAI and SIG will be fine eventually. CJH isn’t an issue at all since he actually went on a long hiatus because of it, and his exemption wasn’t controversial in the first place anyway.

    • Seo In Guk’s case is also quiet different from the people who were involved in scandal in 2004.
      But I remember Jang Hyuk was forgiven much before Real Man. Infact people counseled him not to join the show and let the skeletons remain in the closet but he joined anyway.
      The reason Song Seung Heon is still hated is because of the rumors of his apathy to the duty during his enlistment and star like attitude during service. But i don’t know about Han Jae Suk. He even comes from an influential family but don’t know what happened to his connections.

  4. I am asking this because I don’t know, but why completely exempt them; isn’t their another form of the service less straineous they could have completed, like the police duty service?

    • Ikr? This really bugs me. Do they have to apply for Public Service right from the start to be eligible for it? Or can the military assign them to desk duty if they find they are ineligible for active service? That way it’s a win win for both parties. They still get to serve and the celebrities image remains relatively unscathed.

    • I think, correct me if I’m wrong, that even for ‘lighter’ roles you still need to first complete a physical training, which is common to all roles. So if you cannot complete that, then become exempt.

    • Because in war, when it’s time to run, you gotta flee and so they need to go through a vigorous training for that before they start sitting in an airconditioned office typing away at keyboards.

      The sad thing is if the doc says you can’t even handle the fleeing part.

  5. @Mandy
    You wouldn’t be talking like that if you were a South Korean yourself. Put yourself in their shoes. If you had a boyfriend or brother or any male family members who went through mandatory service or is about to be enlisted, wouldn’t you feel this is totally unfair?

    • Is it? Aim is to enable korean men to defend the country, if it ever comes to it. If you are not able because of health reasons, you can’t be trained. It’s a simple as that. And not about fair or unfair.

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