”Allegations of neglect of duties” have changed the law...MINO (WINNER) affair, finally ”Song Mino Prevention Law” to be proposed

A proposal to amend the Military Service Act is scheduled to be proposed in the wake of the social service personnel negligence scandal involving the South Korean boy group WINNER's MINO (Song Mino).

　According to the Seoul Gazette, the so-called ‘Song Mino Prevention Act’, which will introduce an electronic system to manage the attendance and discharge of community service personnel, is scheduled to be proposed on the 6th January (today).

　The amendment, which was proposed by MP Yoo Yong-won, a member of the National Defence Committee of the National Assembly, includes the establishment and operation of an information system to enable the head of the Military Service Agency to manage the attendance, leave and absenteeism of social service personnel through an electronic system.

　Earlier, it was reported that Mino, who was about to be released from military service in December last year, had not been attending work at the Mapo Residents Benefit Facility and the Mapo Facility Management Corporation, where he had been working as a social service worker, raising allegations of negligent work.

　According to the reports, Mino went to work two to three times a month and kept a handwritten record of his attendance. In addition to this, it was also possible to falsify attendance and departure times at the discretion of the responsible person. The National Human Rights Commission recommended that attendance and departure cards be recorded electronically, but the place Mino worked at did not comply with this.

　In response, Mino's agency YG Entertainment explained his frequent use of leave, saying, ‘We would like to inform you that the reason for sick leave was for the treatment he had received before his service, and all other leave, etc., was used in accordance with the regulations.

　However, Mr A, who had worked with Mino, appeared on SBS ‘Concerned Story Y’ last month and said, ‘(Attendance records) are filled in by hand. The person in charge signs there below. So, even if you use your annual leave, if the person in charge signs it as attendance, you won't know’, he claimed.

　This has raised interest in whether the controversial handwritten record management system will be abolished as the ‘Song Mino Prevention Act’ is being promoted to thoroughly manage the service of social service personnel.

　Meanwhile, the Seoul Mapo Police Station filed a case against Song Min-ho on 23rd March on suspicion of violating the Military Service Act.