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The Seoul Western District Court convicted Song Min-ho on October 1 2026 of violating the Military Service Act after he accumulated 102 unauthorized absences during his 21-month term as a social service agent at a facility in Seoul’s Mapo District. According to Yonhap News Agency the 33-year-old rapper known by his stage name Mino received a one-year prison sentence suspended for two years meaning he avoids jail if he commits no further crimes during the probation period. The court stated that military service is a duty to ensure the security and existence of the state and must be faithfully fulfilled with social service agents no exception yet it took into account his admission of all charges and expressions of remorse. Prosecutors had sought an 18-month term while a supervisor who helped falsify attendance records received a 10-month suspended sentence in the same ruling.
Song began his alternative service in March 2023 after receiving a Grade 4 classification in his conscription examination due to health concerns that included bipolar disorder and panic attacks according to details released by The Korea Herald. His absences increased sharply toward the end of his assignment with prosecutors noting only four days of actual duty in one month despite a 23-day schedule the JoongAng Ilbo reported from court documents. The Military Manpower Administration launched its probe in December 2024 after media accounts highlighted excessive sick leave and the case reached indictment in early 2025. Under the law such unapproved absences do not count toward completion of required service.
In a final statement to the court Song said as a young man of the Republic of Korea I failed to faithfully fulfill my duty of national defense to the end according to transcripts carried by The Korea Times. He added that his health struggles could not excuse his actions and pledged to complete any remaining obligations if provided another opportunity. The court acknowledged that his condition appeared to affect his performance but emphasized the obligation applies equally to all. Song did not answer questions from reporters about plans to redo the missed portion of service.
A 2011 disclosure to the National Assembly by then-speaker Chung Ui-hwa as reported years later by The Korea Herald showed that celebrities received assignments to public service at a rate five times higher than the general population. More recent Military Manpower Administration figures obtained by a lawmaker and published in March 2025 by Maeil Business Newspaper revealed that celebrity exemptions after long waits due to mental illness climbed from seven cases in 2020 to 50 in 2024 representing more than 18 percent of such call-ups. The data placed celebrities at 43 percent of all long-wait mental health exemptions across special military service categories that year. These trends have sustained public criticism over perceived leniency toward entertainers.
High-profile precedents illustrate the consequences of similar violations. Gangnam Style singer Psy had to enlist a second time after a court ruled in 2007 that he neglected duties by pursuing showbusiness activities during his initial service according to BBC News records of the case. Former 1990s star Steve Yoo triggered a national scandal and eventual deportation in 2002 after authorities determined he had evaded service entirely as detailed in contemporaneous reports from Korean outlets. Such cases have repeatedly spotlighted tensions between the entertainment industry’s global schedule and mandatory national duty.
If the verdict becomes final Song faces the prospect of serving an extra 102 days to compensate for the uncredited absences the Military Manpower Administration told The Korea Times. Winner debuted in 2014 under YG Entertainment and Song has maintained a parallel solo career as a rapper songwriter and producer though the agency has issued no immediate comment on the ruling’s effect on group or individual activities. The suspended sentence concludes the first trial with both sides retaining the right to appeal.
