Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps (), commonly known as the Sangmu (), is the sports division of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. Its headquarters are located in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. It was founded in 1984 by the integration of the athletic teams of ROK Army, ROK Navy and ROK Air Force.
Composition First Athletic Unit Football — Gimcheon Sangmu FC take part in K League Basketball — Sangmu Basketball Team take part in Korean Basketball League's Reserve League Handball — Sangmu Phoenix take part in Handball Korea League Rugby - take part in the Korea Super Rugby League Boxing Judo Wrestling
Second Athletic Unit Baseball — Sangmu Baseball Team take part in Futures League (Korea Professional Baseball's Reserve League) Volleyball — Sangmu Volleyball Team took part in V-League Badminton Tennis Field hockey Gymnastics Weightlifting Table tennis
Third Athletic Unit Women's football — Busan Sangmu WFC take part in WK-League Taekwondo Shooting Aquatics Archery Fencing Athletics Cycling Biathlon Modern pentathlon
Achievements Military World Games VenueGoldSilverBronzeTotal 1995 Rome15410 1999 Zagreb104418 2003 Catania54514 2007 Hyderabad24713 2011 Rio de Janeiro86822 2015 Mungyeong19152559 2019 Wuhan3101124 Korea Rugby League
2005, 2007 Champions
Role in professional sports Besides providing athletic training and facilities to serving active-duty military personnel, Sangmu also accepts qualified male professional athletes serving their mandatory military service. Athletes from team sports play for the Sangmu teams on loan from their parent club and return to their respective clubs at the end of their service. Serving Sangmu athletes may be temporarily released to participate in international competitions if called up by their respective sporting associations.
Applicants submit the appropriate documents towards the end of their playing season, which differs depending on the sport, and accepted applicants are further screened through a series of physical fitness tests and a written test. Athletes from team sports are also chosen based on availability of places in the team for the upcoming season and their records. Those rejected may either re-apply (if not of maximum age yet) or serve as a regular soldier. Qualified applicants undergo five weeks of basic military training like all other recruits before being assigned to their respective athletic units. Due to their military status, Sangmu athletes are required to salute when the national anthem is played and are referred to as their rank instead of the honorific for athletes (seonsu, 선수) even at international competitions and tournaments.
The existing policy dictates that athletes who have not completed their service and win a gold medal at the Asian Games or at least a bronze medal at the Olympics may be exempted, although they still have to undergo basic training. If the athlete is already serving, he may be granted an early discharge, as in the case of basketball player Oh Se-keun and fencer Kim Jun-ho, both of whom were discharged weeks after winning their respective medals. Due to this policy, the topic of mandatory military service and exemptions garners increased public interest during the Olympics and Asian Games.
Rugby Union team
Founded in 1984 the KAFAC rugby union team plays in the Korea Super Rugby League, having won the tournament twice in 2005 and 2007. They are coached by Seo Cheon-oh and are based in Mungyeong. The current squad is, Props Kim Jeong-hwan Kwak Seong-jun Lee Jun-woo Lee Kwan-woo Shin Gi-soo Woo Il-kwon Kim Min-seok Seo Tae-pung Kim Tae-woo Hookers Park Tae-ho Park Jae-min Shin Dong-rip Choi Ho-young Locks Kim Jin-hwan Yu Gi-han Lee Hyun-jun Kyung Je-sung Seo Jong-sooBack Rows Kang Ho-bin Park Joon-young Kim Hae-yong Yu Gi-jung Yoon Jong-ok Jeong Jong-taek Yoon Young-hoon Lee Seung-hwan Kwon Jae-hyeok Moon Seong-hwan Lee Young-min Lim Seong-soo Scrum Halves Ahn Sang-hyun Kim Seong-hyeon Moon Tae-hoon Kim Wan-seok Choi Hyeong-tak Fly Halves Kim Chan-seop Kim Chan-deul Jang Jun-beomCentres Shin Hyun-min Bang Joon-young Son Min-gi Kim Min-wook Yoon Young-hoon Oh Moon-seong Yoon Yeong-min Wingers Hong Sung-jong Choi Dong-wan Kim Tae-hyung Kim Seong-ho Kim Hyun-young Kim Chan-sun Kim Eui-tae Fullbacks Jeong Ho-chang Kim Jae-won(Players in bold have played internationally)
References
External links Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps. . Official page on Facebook