Olympic footballer qualified for military exemption without medal: official

Footballer Park Jong-woo will still be eligible for military exemption despite not having collected his bronze medal from the London Olympics following his post-victory celebration, a military official said Friday.

Kim Il-saeng, the head of the Military Manpower Administration (MMA), said during a National Assembly meeting he felt Park is qualified for the service exemption with or without his medal.

"I think Park has met all legal requirements for the exemption," he told the parliamentary committee on national defense. "I don't foresee any problems with his case."

Healthy South Korean men between 18 and 35 are conscripted into the service for about two years. Athletes who win an Olympic medal or an Asian Games gold medal are exempted from the mandatory service and are only required to put in four weeks of basic training instead.

South Korea defeated Japan 2-0 to take the bronze medal, its first-ever Olympic football medal. But Park was barred from the medal ceremony after celebrating by lifting a sign that read, in Korean, "Dokdo Is Our Territory." The sign, which had been handed to the player by a fan in the stands, referred to South Korea's easternmost islets, to which Japan has often laid claims.

The football match was played hours after President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to Dokdo, and diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo have quickly soured since.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA are investigating Park's case. The Olympic Charter prohibits the display of political messages by athletes in competition.

Kim, whose agency handles military service administration, said in order for exemptions to be formally finalized, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must first make a recommendation and the MMA must give the stamp of approval. Kim said the ministry is "in the process of recommending" Park for the exemption.

As for the player, Kim said, "I personally think he is a courageous and an admirable player."

In a written answer to an earlier question from the national defense committee, the MMA had said it would "seek reasonable measures" regarding Park's exemption after the IOC concludes its investigation. (Yonhap News)