Song Min-ho faces 18-month prison request after admitting charges

Prosecutors asked for an 18-month prison sentence for WINNER member Song Min-ho at his first hearing on April 21 at Seoul Western District Court, turning a long-running military service controversy into a direct legal reckoning. According to Yonhap, the case centers on allegations that he failed to properly fulfill his duties as a social service agent in western Seoul from March 2023 to December 2024. The hearing landed as Korean media scrutiny around the case intensified. Song admitted all charges in court, apologized publicly, and said he would serve again if given the chance. That admission matters because this is no longer just a fandom scandal or a rumor cycle. It is now a courtroom-tested accountability story tied to one of the most sensitive issues in Korean public life, mandatory service compliance for male celebrities.

What prosecutors say happened during Song Min-ho's service

Prosecutors say Song Min-ho effectively failed to carry out significant parts of his alternative service, and that claim is what drove the request for prison time at the first hearing. As reported by Korea JoongAng Daily, the prosecution argued that Song was absent for extended periods while assigned to a facility in western Seoul. Soompi, citing the indictment, reported that prosecutors counted 102 days of unauthorized absence, a figure that sharply raised the stakes because it suggests the issue was not a minor attendance dispute but a sustained failure to report. In South Korea, where all able-bodied men are expected to complete military duty or a formally approved alternative path, that kind of allegation lands hard, especially for a public figure whose visibility amplifies public scrutiny. We have seen celebrity service controversies before, from Jung Dong-won's Marine Corps transformation to the broader scrutiny around how idols meet their obligation, but the legal threshold here makes this one especially serious.

Song Min-ho admitted the charges and apologized in court

Song Min-ho admitted all charges at the hearing and used his courtroom statement to apologize rather than fight the basic facts of the case. Yonhap reported that he told the court he felt sorry for showing an embarrassing side of himself instead of setting an example, while also saying that bipolar disorder and panic disorder could not serve as excuses. According to Yonhap, he added that if he were given another opportunity to serve, he would do so faithfully until the end. That is the line likely to define public reaction as much as the prosecution request itself. An admission can read as accountability, but it also confirms the scale of the damage to his image. For an artist from WINNER, a group long associated with YG Entertainment's cooler and more self-directed idol lane, this is the kind of legal setback that shifts the conversation from comeback potential to credibility.

Why this case hits harder than a normal celebrity controversy

Military service cases always cut deeper in Korea because they sit at the intersection of law, fairness, and public trust, and that is exactly why the Song Min-ho story keeps breaking out of the K-pop bubble. All able-bodied South Korean men are required to serve, with alternative service still carrying strict attendance and conduct requirements according to Yonhap's case summary. When a high-profile idol is accused of skipping large chunks of that duty, the reaction is not just about celebrity behavior. It becomes a test of whether fame changes consequences. Fan spaces on Reddit and Korean community boards have been split between sympathy for Song's mental health disclosures and frustration that public figures are expected to meet the same standard as everyone else. The court's final ruling will decide the sentence, but the reputational verdict is already unfolding in real time.

What comes next after the 18-month request

The 18-month prison term is still a prosecution request, not the final sentence, so the next key update will be the court's ruling after it reviews the record, the admission, and the surrounding evidence. Still, the first hearing already established the most important facts in the public eye: prosecutors are treating the case seriously, Song Min-ho has admitted the charges, and the service negligence allegations are no longer speculative. For WINNER and YG Entertainment, the bigger challenge now is what rehabilitation looks like if the legal process keeps moving against him. This story matters because K-pop has spent years selling discipline, effort, and endurance as part of idol mythology. A case like this cuts directly against that image, and audiences are not likely to separate the artist from the standard they expect him to meet.