High ranking YG Entertainment staff found guilty of evading military service

An unnamed high ranking staff member only known as Mr. Shin from YG Entertainment , who is known to house some of K-pop’s biggest artists such as BIGBANG, 2NE1, and more, has been found guilty by the courts of evading his military services.

Recently, the Seoul District Court’s 13th Administration ruled Mr. Shin guilty of purposely evading his military services and ordered him to active military enlistment.

Mr. Shin was originally set to enlist in 2002 when he was 19 years old, however, delayed it to 2008 so he could attend college.  He later stated he was suffering from a delusional order, and therefore, could not enlist in the military. He claimed that he felt as if someone was trying to kidnap him, and felt suicidal impulses on a regular basis. In the end, Mr. Shin filed for a suspension of execution with 10 days left before enlisting and did not enter his military service.

The Military Manpower Administration of  Korea proceeded to reassess Mr. Shin’s and ranked him at Class 3, notifying him to enlist in the army. They also noted Mr. Shin’s entrance into YG Entertainment after his failure to comply with enlistment with distaste. Ever since he joined YG Entertainment, he had participated in producing albums for artists such as 2NE1, and even held lectures as a K-pop expert. He also went to employment seminars as a representative of YG Entertainment and served as the “face” of the agency.

The courts revealed, “Mr. Shin has held many lectures before numerous people since he joined the entertainment company. When he was 25 years old and consulting doctors, he had said ‘I’m going to hold out until I’m 34 and not go to the army,’ and it is hard to believe a person has a serious delusional order when they claim such a fact at 28 years of age. Although Mr. Shin claims he has delusions of someone trying to kidnap him, it is hard to say that he is not fit for military service based on this fact. He has experienced no hardships in working, so it is difficult to say he will face shortcomings with regards to his military service,” and ordered him to enlist.

YG Entertainment has released a statement regarding this controversy, “The company was not aware of this situation. The person in question is currently denying the stories.” 

In Korea, it is mandatory for healthy Korean men to enlist in the military for two years between the age of 18 and 37 years old (previously 35 prior to 2011).

Source: Sports World