SEOUL: For South Korea's gold medal-winning footballers, victory at the Asian Games came with a reward beyond sporting glory: exemption from mandatory military service.
But the way some players celebrated that benefit has sparked a public backlash, prompting Seoul to reconsider a decades-old system originally designed to reward athletes for bringing prestige to the nation.
The controversy erupted after Asian Games football captain Lee Gi-hyuk proclaimed with a smile "I'm not going to the military" after beating hosts Japan in the men's final this month.
He said he would have had to report for duty just nine days later had his team lost, interrupting a lucrative career at its peak.
