by Journalist Kang Wooseok
https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/023/0003851120?sid=102
On the 7th, the Military Manpower Administration stated that BTS member Suga (31, real name Min Yoongi), who was caught drunk driving while serving as a public service worker, did not violate the duty to maintain dignity because the incident occurred outside of work hours.
The Seoul Yongsan Police Station announced on the 7th that Min was arrested for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving) while driving an electric scooter in a heavily intoxicated state on a road in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, around 11:15 PM on the 6th. Min, who has been serving as a social service worker since September last year, will be punished as a civilian, not as a soldier or public official. According to the Military Manpower Administration, if a social service worker commits a crime outside of work hours, there is no additional disciplinary action from the agency apart from civilian legal penalties.
The regulations for managing social service workers include "duty to maintain dignity (Article 8)" and "scope of misconduct (Article 29-2)." However, these regulations do not apply to incidents that occur outside of work hours, even for social service workers. An official from the Seoul Regional Military Manpower Administration stated, "There are no separate status measures under military law for incidents that occur outside of work hours and are unrelated to duties. This rule applies equally to all social service workers."
Social service workers are those who are assigned to do public service jobs instead of regular military service due to the results of their military health test. In contrast, active-duty soldiers who commit crimes in society are subject to the Military Criminal Act and are tried in military courts. Although both groups perform mandatory service, active-duty soldiers face more severe legal consequences for off-duty crimes compared to social service workers.
Some active-duty veterans have responded with, "Can we also drink and drive after work?" Kim (28), a marine corps veteran, said, "Both active-duty soldiers and social service workers endure hardships, but active-duty soldiers in more challenging conditions seem to be at a disadvantage. It seems necessary to strengthen the punishment regulations for social service workers to ensure fairness."
-Why is he serving as a social service worker?
-Soldiers need to maintain dignity even during leave...
-Active duty soldiers get punished even if they cause trouble during leave. Social service workers have it really easy; they aren’t even soldiers.
-The law needs to be changed.
-Such an easy deal~ If it's not work time, you can get drunk and even collapse on the street.
-It's so unfair. I feel bad for the active-duty soldiers.
-That’s why they go to social service...
-Because of him, social service workers will get criticized again...
-Social service workers are not soldiers. Even if they die during service, they don't get state compensation.
-Being a social service worker is really nice.
-But aren’t social service workers soldiers? If he was an active-duty soldier, he would have been punished under military law... Why are social service workers excluded?
-Maybe it's because social service workers aren’t considered as soldiers.
-Social service workers are civilians and are affiliated with local government offices.
-One more reason to become a social service worker...
-Social service workers already have a bad reputation, and this doesn’t help.
