Seoul Court Sentences K-Pop Singer Song Min-ho to Two Years for Civil Service Absences

A Seoul court handed down a two-year prison sentence, suspended, to Song Min-ho, a singer with the South Korean k-pop group Winner, for violating the country's strict mandatory military service laws. South Korea requires all adult men to serve 18 months, though health grounds can lead to assignment to civil service instead. Min-ho fell into that category, and prosecutors alleged he skipped hundreds of shifts at the community center where he was posted between 2023 and 2024. The judges suspended the sentence after Min-ho admitted responsibility, meaning he will avoid incarceration provided he commits no offenses over the next two years.