A South Korean court has found a man guilty of purposefully gaining weight to avoid completing required service in the country’s military.
Seoul’s Eastern District Court sentenced the 26-year-old man to one year in prison for violating the country’s military service act. The Associated Press reports that the court suspended the sentence for two years. The court said the man did not appeal the November 13 ruling against him.
The court said the man had gained more than 20 kilograms in an effort to get released from a government requirement to serve in the military.
South Korea requires all able-bodied men to serve in the military for 18-21 months. However, some individuals with health issues can instead perform service in non-military positions. Such service can be carried out at welfare centers or at other approved places within communities.
People with serious health problems are not required to serve in the military at all.
A health examination in 2017 found the man was physically able to become an active-duty soldier while weighing 83 kilograms. But the court said the man received advice that he could get permission to serve a non-military, social service position if he was overweight. This led him to start gaining weight.
The court said that in three physical exams carried out in 2022 and 2023, the man weighed 102-105 kilograms, a weight that made him fit for social service.
The AP reported it was not clear how the crime was discovered nor if the man began his military duty before he was tried. The court said only that he had promised to meet his military service requirement.
South Korea operates a compulsory military service system to deal with possible military threats from North Korea. But the policy is widely debated in the country. Some critics of the system point to the fact that requiring military service forces young men to suspend their studies or professional careers.
South Korea’s Military Manpower Administration is responsible for operating the country’s compulsory military service system. It says that each year, about 50-60 cases of dodging military duties have been reported.
The organization notes the most common ways to avoid military duties are to gain or lose large amounts of weight or to not complete necessary medical treatments before physical exams.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
