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South Korean Olympic medalists exempted from military service
South Korea's male Olympians who won medals in Athens enjoy various rewards for their achievements, but perhaps one of the most significant could be exemption from their mandatory military service. According to the Yonhap news agency, South Korean men who win medals in the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games are only required to do four weeks of basic training instead of the usual 26 months in the country's armed forces. Women are not obliged to serve in South Korea's military. Male athletes who fail to win those prizes must serve the entire conscription period. Exemptions from military service are given to those who are physically unfit, very poor or serving in certain local government posts, but are otherwise uncommon. Considering the fact that they must go to the military in the prime of their youth, some South Korean athletes are more dismayed by failure to be exempted than an unsuccessful attempt to win a medal. Judoka Choi Min-ho, 24, was on the verge of full conscription but was exempted by taking the -60kg bronze in Athens. He failed to win gold in the 2002 Busan Asian Games and lost in the Olympic quarterfinals, but won three consecutive matches in the repechage to take the medal. Fellow judoist Lee Won-hee, 23, nicknamed "Mr Ippon," also had the luck of being exempted from full military service by taking a gold medal in the -73kg competition. After taking gold in the -60kg class of Greco-Roman wrestling, relatively unknown Jung Ji-hyun, 21, will only have to do four weeks of basic training. The young members of the Olympic football squad, such as Choi Sung-kuk and Kim Dong-jin, needed the exemption for their attempts to join leagues in Europe or Japan, but as a result of the team's loss in the quarterfinal will have to wait for another opportunity. |
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