PGA tour winner must do military service

[Psyche]

"SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean golfer Bae Sang-Moon, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, is to return home to complete his military service after losing a legal battle to defer his conscription on Wednesday."

PGA Tour winner Bae ordered to sign up for army - Yahoo New Zealand

While I agree that the rule should be applied fairly, everyone's life is interrupted by compulsory service in countries where it is applied, it does seem odd to shorten a career that creates a lot of positive press for the country. I wonder if something about how the deferment request was handled was seen as disrespectful leading to a need to 'make an example' here?

 

[Rowe992]

I don't agree with these countries that force people to serve in the army against their will. If the country is not in any serious danger of going to war or having a shortage of personnel then military service must be voluntarily done.

 

[missbishi]

It's crazy. Bae Sang-Moon is undoubtedly doing more for the reputation of South Korea by playing golf than he ever could in service yet is being forced to cut his career short. Poor guy. Hopefully, the time will pass quickly for him and he'll be able to pick up where he left off soon.

 

[Corzhens]

I was still a young girl when Girl Happy was shown in theaters. It was a blockbuster because Elvis Presley was very popular. And if I remember correctly, my older siblings said that Elvis made that movie while he was on military service in Germany. Years after, it was the turn of Cassius Clay, the world heavyweight boxing champion to do the 3 years of forced military service. I'm glad that here in our country there's no compulsory military service.

 

[Psyche]

It must be weird to have to arrange your life around this "gap" of military service. Here is another case, Siwon from the K-Pop group Super Junior. Although it seems to have been fitted in better to account for contractual obligations.

It is almost as if the multi-member K-Pop groups are designed to allow for these absences:

"Siwon is the seventh member of Super Junior to enlist in the South Korean military, as reported by Kpop Herald. Super Junior members Kangin, Yesung, Heechul, and Leeteuk have already completed their service while Shindong and Sungmin are currently enlisted."

http://www.inquisitr.com/2296458/siwon-of-k-pop-mega-group-super-junior-will-enlist-in-koreas-military-later-this-year/