Bae, 29, filed a lawsuit against the MMA, asking the court to nullify the agency’s decision to reject the extension of his overseas travel permit.
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The Daegu District Court ruled South Korea’s Military Manpower Administration (MMA) was right to not renew Bae’s expired visa in December 2014.
A two-time victor on the PGA Tour, Bae is likely to appeal against the ruling.
Sangmoon Bae has lost his court battle and will return to South Korea to complete two years of mandatory military service.
“I completely respect the court’s decision and I humbly accept the judgment by the law”, he told Yonhap.
In the wake of the ruling, the 29-year-old will return home. It later asked Bae to return to Korea no later than January 31.
Under the act, men between 25 and 35 who have not yet completed their mandatory service require a special permit to stay overseas. Either way, Bae immediately loses his value and there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to regain his current stature in the game when he eventually returns stateside in the next few years.
South Korea is still technically at war with North Korea, and military service is considered essential to keeping the south safe from potential attacks.
Bae, who was contesting the MMA’s assertion that he had not spent enough time out of South Korea in 2014 to qualify as an overseas resident, said he would join the army soon.
Bae reiterated his previous claim that he had never meant to dodge the military service entirely.
While he says he only wants to delay his military service, not evade it, the court ruled his refusal to sign up with the military “runs counter to the principle of fairness”.
According to the commission, Bae had also split his time playing on the Korean PGA Tour and earned more than 400 million won (US$347,200) while also earning credits at a South Korean graduate school.
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Bae snared his second PGA title at the Frys.com Open in Napa, California last October and has already secured an exemption for 2016 after winning $2,047,187 so far in the 2015 season.
