I found this gem of an allkpop article. Too much misinformation being spread by big fandoms trying to change the narrative,
Rumors about BIG 3 requesting the government military exemption for their idols have been going around for 4 years.A netizen debunked the rumors by exposing the truth.
This article was released on April 17 and viewed 111,374 times. The text translation is below!
Original Post: here
Post reaction:
People jump on the bandwagon by reading tweets instead of official news.
Recently, it's claimed that it was the big entertainment companies that requested military service exemption from the government in 2018 and that HYBE and BTS were under pressure.
After the news broke that big agencies met with Korea Management Association, some fans screenshot certain parts of the article and shared it on Twitter, Pann, and The Qoo, making it look like big agencies asked the government to exempt their idols from military service. As usual, fans kept spreading false information instead of trying to read the whole news.
1. First of all, in July 2018, activist and politician Ha Tae-kyung said that BTS should be exempted from the military as they topped the Billboard chart.
2. It (Hae Tae-Kyung's suggestion) became a hot topic. The media was full of news about the possibility of BTS' exemption from military service. There was the news almost every day for a month. BTS' fans supported the idea and trended hashtags on Twitter and sent e-mails to the Blue House.
3. A government official said they would like to listen to the entertainment industry representatives about the idols' military service.
(Edaily news) "According to the entertainment industry officials on the 4th, in the middle of last month, a government official told the industry representatives that they would like to listen to the situation and positions of agencies related to the enlistment and service of celebrities. Accordingly, industry officials have recently gathered to discuss the situation related to the military enlistment of pop culture artists, the timing of the enlistment, and possible alternatives to alternative service to be delivered to the government."
"Discussions were held at this meeting, such as creating an objective standard so that celebrities can also be admitted to the arts and sports personnel and requesting that the enlistment be delayed as much as possible within the limit allowed by law."
As you can see, no company requested a meeting. It was a government official who invited them. Also, it was not limited to artists belonging to big agencies, but the entire industry. Also, it was not about military exemption but delaying the military service.
SM, YG, and JYP, who did not raise the issue of military enlistment had to take the responsibility.
Netizen comments:
1.[+247, -42] It was collusion between Big Hit, the politician, the media, and the government.
The politician raised his voice about BTS' military exemption. The media articles about this were all positive. Most of them supported the idea by saying athletes are exempted so BTS should be, too. And the reason was Billboard chart that nobody in the world cares except for idol fans.
The government said they would discuss it. The government invited industry representatives and Big Hit didn't join on purpose, to make it look like they weren't involved in anything... and they had their trust in the government that supported BTS since the beginning. Big Hit and BTS members acted like they didn't care about the decision and that they would join the military no matter what. They even write lyrics about it. SM, YG, and JYP were left holding the bag. The government had been trying to pass the law in favor of BTS (not in favor of any other groups). And now, the government is about to change. So, Big Hit is insisting on the National Assembly to make a decision on BTS service exemption.
2.[+216, -46] These guys are money-addicted since they were born. At first, CJ invested 5 billion Won. They were promoted and sponsored by CJ. CJ's outside director served as the Minister of Culture and Tourism under Moon Jae In -The backbone of the Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairsㄷㄷㄷ but they are a "dirty spoon"ㅋㅋㅋ
(dirty spoon is the opposite of being born with 'silver spoon')
3.[+204, -33] There is also this article. The journalist said he received money for writing an article about BTS' military exemption and their effect on tourismㅋㅋㅋ
4.[+158, -9] I remember this. That BTS didn't even think about the military exemption. Armys said big companies gathered together without Big Hit and asked for military exemption. The reality was that Big Hit didn't attend because they wanted to look like they weren't interested in it, and other agencies attended because the government called them. Suga even wrote a song about it. What's the result? The 3 big companies' idols are serving in the military, and only Big Hit idols are receiving special treatment. HYBE-Democratic collusion needs to be investigated.
5.[+125, -7] They invited 100 reporters to Las Vegas and gave them a free tour. Somehow, articles on the exemption from the military came out. In Dispatch survey, there were only 500 people. They even wrote an eloquent article about it lol.
6.[+121, -100] It was strange that whenever BTS did something, the news came out and it became a hot topic too much. Even if they do a normal concert that all other idols do, the news will come out on the TV. And the news will be like "What's the economic effect?" It's all controlled by the Democratic government.
7.[+114, -3] Must be lucky to have a lot of money. If 100 reporters were provided with flight, hotel, and course meal, it will be like 500 million won per person.
8.[+110, -6] I'm really sick of this fandom. Stop trying to grab other idols by the hair
9.[+100, -3] [Joongang Ilbo's article] Secretary of the ruling party to get a job at Big Hit
It has been confirmed that former secretaries of Rep. Ahn Min-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea, chairman of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Choi Jae-seong of the Democratic Party of Korea, who belong to the National Defense Commission, have been employed by Big Hit.
10.[+100, -5] BTS' company listing on the stock market was completely strange, but it was blown up at a ridiculously high price. Company executives created a private equity fund and made hundreds of billions of won in just a few days. But no investigation? Idols sponsored by the government ㅋㅋㅋ
11.[+92, -12] Crazy lawmakers who want them to be exempted from military service because they ranked first on an album chart in other countries, and a crazy company that says, 'Please give me an answer as soon as possible because BTS having a hard time'
12.[+92, -12] They're not promoting national prestige. Foreign Armys insult and look down on Korea. They say BTS is not K-Pop, and when they go to a concert and see Koreans, they take pictures with their phones and mock them. HYBE itself is more for Americans than Koreans, so foreign fans look down on Korea.
