South Korean golfer Bae Sang-moon, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, is to return home to complete his military service after yesterday losing a legal battle to defer his conscription.
The 29-year-old, who was granted US residency in 2013, was charged in February with violating South Korea’s military service regulations after failing to secure an extension to his overseas travel permit.
Bae was allowed to stay in the US while his lawsuit against that decision was pending, but a court in his home city of Daegu yesterday backed the South Korean Military Manpower Administration (MMA), Yonhap news agency reported.
Bae, who was contesting the MMA’s assertion that he had not spent enough time out of South Korea last year to qualify as an overseas resident, said he would join the army soon.
“I completely respect the court’s decision, and I humbly accept the judgement by the law,” Bae told Yonhap.
“I am sorry to those who have supported me, including all my fans and South Koreans, for causing anxiety,” he added.
With the country still technically at war with North Korea after the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, all South Korean men between 18 and 35 must complete two years of military service.
The court had ruled that his refusal to sign up with the military ran “counter to the principle of fairness” in regard to other conscripts.
Most in South Korea agree conscription is necessary to deter North Korean aggression and the public backlash toward high-profile figures such as actors, musicians and athletes who seek to skip military service can be fierce.
Bae secured his second PGA title at the Frys.com Open in Napa, California, in October last year and secured an exemption for next year after winning more than US$2 million so far this season.
Bae, who is to earn about US$130 per month as a private in the army, took home US$15,209 from his last outing on the PGA Tour after tying for 54th at the Greenbrier Classic earlier this month.
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