Games-Korean gamers on cusp of gold, and avoiding military service

HANGZHOU, China : Gaming superstar 'Faker' is one of a large number of male South Korean athletes at the Hangzhou Asian Games who, if they win gold, will enjoy the added bonus of being able to skip what is normally mandatory military service.

All able-bodied South Korean men aged between 18 and 28 must serve in the military for around 1.5 to 2 years as part of the country’s efforts to guard against North Korea.

Tens of thousands of young South Koreans are drafted each year to perform their duty.

But athletes and artists can get exemptions if they are seen to have promoted national prestige, for example by winning certain international or national awards, an Olympic medal or a gold medal at the Asian Games.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min secured the exemption after his Korean team won gold at the last Games in Jakarta in 2018. But not everyone has managed it.

Tennis player Kwon Soon-woo, 25, who made headlines this week for smashing his racquet in frustration in a singles match, lost his last chance of an exemption courtesy of these Games on Thursday when he and his men's doubles partner were beaten by an Indian pair in the semi-finals.

K-pop star Suga, songwriter and rapper for the boy band supergroup BTS, began the enlistment process for mandatory military service last month, making him the third BTS member to go off to perform the military duty.

The military service law was amended several years ago to allow selected K-pop megastars to defer their service to aged 30, but not to avoid it entirely, with a large section of the population against giving stars like BTS special treatment.

GAME TIME

Though only a reserve on Thursday, Faker, whose real name is Lee Sang-hyeok, and his team progressed to the "League of