Taiwanese media has criticized the country’s celebrities involved in military service evasion scandals by mentioning the example set by BTS.
On April 1, Taiwanese outlets including TVBS, the Taipei Times, and ETtoday reported the arrest of singer and actor Chu Shengyi on charges of military service evasion.
Police arrested Chu Shengyi at his apartment and took him in handcuffs to the Xinzhuang District police station for investigation.
According to police investigations, Chu confessed to paying 300,000 to 400,000 TWD (approximately 14.1 million to 18.8 million KRW) to obtain a forged medical certificate for hypertension to evade military duties.
The Xinzhuang District Prosecution and police have arrested about 10 people, including Chu, in a large-scale crackdown on military service evasion.
Previously, in June last year, Taiwanese authorities charged 28 people, including popular actor Darren Wang, other celebrities, a famous chef, a music producer, businessmen, doctors, and four brokers who assisted in military service evasion, with military law violations and document forgery.
Taiwanese media expressed displeasure with these recurring cases in the entertainment industry, referencing BTS’s enlistment and discharge model.
The media noted, “Even though BTS members are globally famous, they completed their military service,” and urged, “Learn from South Korea.”
Among BTS members, the oldest, Jin, who enlisted in 2022, completed his military service in June 2024. J-Hope followed, completing his service in October of the same year.
By 2025, all six active members, including RM, V, Jimin, and Jungkook, had completed their service. Suga, who served as a social service agent, also finished his duties that same year.
Image source: Xportsnews
