[theqoo] REVIEW OF THE CALL AT SUNG ILJONG'S OFFICE FOLLOWING BTS' EXEMPTION

[theqoo] AFTERMATH OF THE CALL AT SUNG ILJONG'S OFFICE FOLLOWING BTS' EXEMPTION

t/n: Sung Iljong is a Korean congressman

"I called Sung Iljong's office regarding BTS' exemptions"

"It is said that BTS promoted the national prestige, but I'm not sure what they did concretely in terms of bringing national prestige. As popular singer, they sang and performed entertainment activities under an agency company for the sake of their own success. Are there any specific metrics about what this has to do with the promotion of national prestige?

Sung Iljong's rep said that [the artist] needs to hit #1 on the Billboard as a joke, but an idol group called Stray Kids also took first place on the Billboard a while ago. Then, will Stray Kids be exempt from military service? In some countries, the group EXO is said to be more popular than BTS, so the EXO members are also subject to military exemption?

Even people with brain tumor cancers in their early 20s who don't even have a single penny in their pocket are subject to fulfill their military duties. So why is BTS justified to be exempted? Because they have a good reputation? They have a lot of money? Are BTS members a privileged class in Korea?

BTS themselves have already announced many times in public that they will go to the army, and they have ridiculed and demeaned people who are exempted from the military with song lyrics.'

I know that President-elect Yoon Seok-yul's lifelong philosophy that everyone should be equal and just before the law, whether the president, minister, or chaebol.

Can you say that you will open a fair country by forcing young people in their early twenties to fulfill their duties when you're thinking about military service exemption preferential treatment for popular singers with tens of billions of fortune and fame and popularity?

Currently, in many communities, the name of Rep. Sung Iljong is being discussed and criticized.

The opinion is unanimous. Please inform the lawmakers about our opinions."

This are the minutes about the conversation I had in length with the district secretary.

In the beginning, the secretary said that there were discussions about BTS being the only ones to be exempted, but as soon as I refuted it, she didn't say a word like a dumbas*.

I said that I would gather up the opinions and report them directly to Rep. Sung Iljong, so I'll wait. I'll call to protest again if they don't do anything about it.

Korea is not a class society, and BTS members are not a privileged class in a class society.

Even young people in their early 20s are enlisting to fulfill their duties, so why should we give the privilege of exemption from military service to celebrities who have performed entertainment activities for their own success? incomprehensible

Even though I am a young man in my 30s who also already served in the military, I will continue to fight until the end for young people in their early 20s.

original post: here

1. Hybe is amazing for being able to shift the public sentiment from "Those f*ckers are just trying to make excuses to not serve in the army" to "it would be such a waste to send BTS to the army" with the help of the media

2. At this rate, people are starting to beat on BTS' achievements, but this is all the agency's faultㅠㅠㅠ They keep using words like "not sure yet" "uncertainty" so the general public's opinions have all became bad, they could've just stood still if they're going to meet us halfway like that. The only people receiving hate now is Bangtan because of what Hybe is doing. It feels like Hybe's interest totally shifted to their upcoming group and their own business rather than realizing that BTS' reputation is going down the drainㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ If you look at Hybe' attitude, they're clearly just using BTS as a stock defense. BTS still has the potential to hit even bigger

3. He really poured his heart out

4. It's amazing to see even the media turning back on them because the company is unable to do their work

At this rate, whether they go or don't go, it'll be just as controversial.

If BTS would've received an exemption, they could've also received it quietly, but now they're acting like it's so unfair for them if they don't receive the exemption and how it's uncomfortable, etc.... Ugh

5. Just go already

6. What OP said is all right. Of course we could give them the exemption, but none of those standards are based in our country and they claim they want to use another country's awardㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I can only laugh

7. The media will murder them if they receive an exemptionㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Just go already

8. The whole time they're discussing about the exemption, BTS has been enjoying their time going in tours, are they going to donate all this money back to Korea? They're freaking shameless, they're already enjoying military preferential treatment as we speak meanwhile they still want us to change the law and exempt them

9. In the past, even the media has given good responses for BTS saying even if they get exempted, it would be okay, but now they've ruined everything...

10. What he said is rightㅋㅋ If they were planning to go in the first place, they would've been serving already

[theqoo] RELATION BETWEEN THE '100 JOURNALISTS FOR BTS' FAMILY TOUR' AND ARTICLES SUPPORTING THEIR EXEMPTION

Lee Jin-hyeong, CCO of Hive, said on the 10th (KST), “Artists (BTS) have repeatedly issued messages in the past saying that they will respond to national calls, and their thoughts remain the same. Regarding the postponement bill, the flow of things ended being different from what they thought, so we are watching the company's situation. After the submission of the draft amendment to the Military Service Act, we have consulted with the company about how this situation will be and have left the decision to the company.”

These remarks came from a press conference related to the performance of 'BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE' held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on the 9th local time in the US. Previously, HYBE had invited about 100 reporters to the BTS Las Vegas performance on the 8th and 9th. HYBE provided paid all of their with plane tickets, accommodation, meals, and corona test costs for all 100 reporters.

For this reason, some wondered if this large-scale reporters' family tour was not a "friendship-building-media move" by HYBE, conscious of the issue surrounding the special treatment for BTS' military service.

Of course, this is the first time HYBE has expressed such a specific position on BTS' military service exception. This is also the reason why many articles have chosen titles such as 'HYBE that revealed their first position on special military service' and 'HYBE who opened their mouth'. Even though HYBE said that they didn't plan on touching on the special treatment issue during this tour, it is true that articles on this special military treatment were heavily poured out during the family tour.

In addition, if the media received sponsor from a specific company for their report, usually an explanation such as “This article was written with OO's support” should be disclosed in the article so that readers can develop their own judgement regarding the article. However, it is difficult to find an article with such a disclosure among the BTS articles.

[...]

A situation in which journalism ethics issues can be raised even if it is not a violation of the law. Shim Seok-tae, a professor at Semyung University's Journalism School, told Media Today on the 11th, "Before the Kim Young-ran Act of 2016, companies took a group of reporters to tour overseas technology fairs and home appliance exhibitions, etc. Since the law came into effect, it has changed its course at the media's own expense” he said. “It is unusual for about 100 reporters to go on a family tour as a group considering the enforcement of the Kim Young-ran Act.”

Professor Shim said, “It is unusual for HYBE to support so many media people's overseas business trips, and it is also unusual for so many media people to participate in such event. If there was no problem with this case, it would be the same as saying that there is no restriction on providing amenities to reporters, whether domestic or foreign, business, organization, or political party."

He continued, “Although (HYBE) provided support for the reporters indiscriminately and uniformly, HYBE did not receive the reporters' applications through their homepage which could be fairly viewed by everyone. In reality, HYBE cannot send e-mails to ‘all’ reporters, and so they don't have other choice but to have their own selection process.” This is a rebuttal of HYBE's claim of 'application for uniform news-collection'.

[...]

Park Young-heum, a professor of Media and Visual Advertising at Hyupseong University, said, "No matter how detailed the Kim Young-ran Act is supplemented, it is difficult to define everything in detail. The law is supposed to set the minimum standard, but eventually the media and journalists will be the ones to choose and settle on their own ethical standards".

Professor Park said, "It is possible to reasonably suspect that the BTS agency HYBE planned this family tour with a purpose in mind, but this cannot be proved immediately. From the perspective of reporters, it will be possible to argue that "HYBE said that they received legal advice, so they went there to gather the news because they received support, and reported on the question of special military treatment because the answers were given." However, from a third party's point of view, the situation is suspicious".

Professor Park said "Since the enforcement of the Kim Young-ran Act, companies, public relations officials, and reporters have also improved their practice, but this BTS family tour case is not acceptable because it is not in line with our current times. They should have been careful considering the social situation."

original post: here

1. Hul

2. If they got called, they will enlist. If they haven't been called, then they should just be thankful.. that's it. Why is everyone such a mess

3. I think that this is a legal issue concerning the 'no-solicitation' law. Societally speaking, I think that this is a serious issue

4. If they get exempted, there will be a ton of gossips

5. Please leave HYBE.. please, moronic HYBE is f*cking bad at doing their work

6. Ah...

7. I get that it's controversial if they took 100 reporters with them but I'm not sure if you can claim that this automatically means that they are friendly with reporters...

8. Their companies are doing all kinds of shady things with their money.. Stop with this f*ckery and just enlist when time comes

9. What a mess...

10. Seems like the trash journalists are scared of getting punished. Anyways, if this is illegal, they should get punished. Life is a fight

11. Seeing how they are giving so many benefits to these 100 reporters really shows the intentions of the company ㅇㅇ

12. Their company is really smearing their name...

13. It's always said that Bangtan spreads positive influence but their company is just smearing everything with poop tsk tsk

14. The issue related to BTS exemption started four years ago, and the articles' tone was generally positive, because there is no disagreement about BTS' national prestige

15. Ha.. HYBE is honestly... Bangtan made HYBE so why should they leave HYBE? They should get rid of the management. Seriously, at this point, they should either change them completely or get rid of them... I don't think that they will ever leave.. HYBE is honestly ugh ㅡㅡ

New post