South Korea debates whether successful bands like BTS should be exempt from military service

Current exemptions are only handed out for specific international achievements in sport or classical music

BTS in the music video for 'IDOL' (BTS/Youtube)

A debate has been sparked over whether South Korean boy band BTS should be made exempt from military service, due to their achievements in music.

All able-bodied Korean men are required by law to fulfil their military service for up to two years unless they are granted exemption. However, medals in certain sporting events, along with gold medals or top spots for certain international sporting and arts competitions, qualify the winner for exemption.

Following South Korea's men's football team winning gold at the Asian Games this year, which granted them the right to skip military service, some public figures have begun to call for successful pop stars to receive the same treatment.

Prime minister Lee Nak-yon appeared to suggest that the rules should be expanded to cover successful pop artists, when he urged the military to "come up with a more reasonable measure by reflecting the public's growing demands".

Last year, an opposition lawmaker said the current exemptions, which exclude the achievements of bands such as BTS, were unfair: "If you win a classical music competition such as in violin or piano, military exemption is granted," he said. "However, winning a pop music competition, such as the Billboard albums chart, gets you nothing."

BTS recently topped the Billboard 200 chart for the second time with their new album Love Yourself: Answer, and have been praised for bringing honour to South Korea and the K Pop industry. They also managed to break the record previously held by Taylor Swift for biggest music video debut on YouTube, with their video for "Idol". The visuals for the single racked up an astonishing 45m views in 24 hours.

The Korea Times reports that the ministry of national defence is being stubborn about changing its exemption rules and may even cut the number of exemptions it makes in future.

"The Ministry of National Defence is considering abolishing the policy, but nothing specific has been confirmed about a timeline," it said in a statement.