{
  "id": 11096908,
  "title": "WINNER's Song Min-ho gets suspended prison term for negligence in mandatory service",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/winners-song-min-ho-gets-suspended-prison-term-for-negligence-in-11096908",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-01T03:32:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/20261001/winners-song-min-ho-gets-suspended-prison-term-for-negligence-in-mandatory-service"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Seoul court handed down a suspended one-year prison sentence on Thursday to Song Min-ho, a member of the popular K-pop boy band WINNER. The verdict came after the court found Song guilty of violating the Military Service Act by repeatedly skipping work during his alternative mandatory service. The court sentenced Song to two years of suspended imprisonment for failing to appear at his duty station 102 times, intermittently, while serving as a social service agent at a facility in western Seoul from March 2023 to December 2024. The court emphasized that military service is a duty to safeguard the state's security and must be performed diligently. Social service agents are also bound by this obligation. Prosecutors had requested an 18-month prison term for Song. Prior to the ruling, Song expressed remorse for his actions and apologized to those who supported him. However, he did not comment on whether he intended to serve his mandatory duty again. Under South Korean law, all able-bodied men must serve a minimum of 18 months in the military, although some exceptions exist.",
  "summary": "A Seoul court sentenced Song Min-ho, a member of K-pop boy band WINNER, to a suspended prison term Thursday on charges of repeatedly failing to show up to work during his alternative mandatory service. The Seoul Western District Court handed down a one-year prison term, suspended for two years, for Song after finding him guilty of violating the Military Service Act. Song faced charges of failing…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "WINNER's Song Min-ho gets suspended prison term for negligence in mandatory service",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/winners-song-min-ho-gets-suspended-prison-term-for-negligence-in",
        "published": "2026-10-01T02:47:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "WINNER's Song Min-ho gets suspended prison term for negligence in mandatory service",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/winners-song-min-ho-gets-suspended-prison-term-for-negligence-in-11100271",
        "published": "2026-10-01T03:52:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}