AP, SEOUL
A South Korean man has been sentenced to a suspended prison term for deliberately gaining more than 20kg to evade a tougher role in the nation’s military conscription system, the Seoul Eastern District Court said yesterday.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men must serve in the military for 18 to 21 months, but those with health issues can instead carry out their duties at non-military facilities, such as welfare centers and community service centers. If their problems are serious, they are exempted from their military duties.
The Seoul court said it sentenced the man to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for contravening the nation’s military service act.
South Korean army soldiers conduct an anti-terror drill as part of the Ulchi Taeguk exercise at a park in Seoul on May 27, 2019.
Photo: AP
The court said an acquaintance of the man received a suspended one-year prison term for aiding his crime. Local media reported they are friends, both aged 26, but the court said it could not confirm the reports.
An exam in 2017 found the man suitable to become an active-duty soldier at 169cm tall and weighing 83kg. However, with the advice of his acquaintance that he could get a social service grade if he was overweight, he doubled his daily food consumption, focused on eating high-calorie food products and quit his part-time job as a delivery worker, the court’s public affairs office said.
In three physical exams from 2022 to last year, the man weighed 102 to 105kg, a weight that made him fit for social service. Just before those exams, he drank a large amount of water as well, the court said.
It was unclear how the crime was caught and whether the man began serving his military duty before he was tried. The court only said the man had promised to fulfill his military duty faithfully.
The court said both the defendants and prosecutors did not appeal the Nov. 13 ruling.
South Korea maintains a military conscription system due to threats from rival North Korea, but exemptions or dodging of military duties is a highly sensitive domestic issue, because the draft forces young men to suspend their studies or professional careers.
