Earlier today, agency PLEDIS Entertainment confirmed SEVENTEEN’s S.Coups has been exempted from military service after going through the Korean military’s mandatory Impairment & Disability evaluation.
According to the agency, S.Coups was given a Grade 5 physical grading after the evaluation, which under Korean law means he is not eligible to either become an active duty soldier, or to be given a supplementary service job (ie: a desk job).
The agency commented on S.Coups’ physical grading by Republic of Korea military officials, saying:
S.Coups underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and anterior collateral ligament reconstruction surgery due to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Because it was a major surgery, he has been undergoing rehabilitation treatment for a long period of time from last year to the present.
This is why he was judged to be a Grade 5 candidate.
Korean military regulations mean a Grade 5 or above is exempt from active duty
According to official military regulations, if a candidate for the Korean military is judged to be unfit to serve in active duty (this is applicable to Grades 5, 6 or 7), he is not mandated to service in peacetime.
With a Grade 5 evaluation, however, should South Korea ever go to war, S.Coups would be mandated to provide wartime labor services.
S.Coups evaluated by military officials
In other words, SEVENTEEN member S.Coups didn’t evaluate himself, Korean military officials evaluated him and concluded he was not fit for active physical duty due to his severe knee injury.
If you have a problem with this (because, let’s face it, there are always assholes who want to destroy a K-pop star’s life), direct your ire at the Korean government that passed these laws, and not at S.Coups himself.
After all, he simply showed up for an Impairment & Disability evaluation as he was mandated to do, and was then judged as not physically fit to serve.