A court in South Korea sentenced a man to prison after he was found guilty of evading mandatory military service by deliberately gaining weight.
The 26-year-old man was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years, under the Military Service Act by the Seoul Eastern Dongbu District Court, The Korea Herald reported.
The man had doubled his daily food intake and consumed large amounts of water before his physical examination for the military draft, according to the report. He was qualified for a combat role in his initial physical exam in October 2017.
He deliberately consumed more food and was granted a grade that held him obese after a physical exam in June 2023. He weighed 102.3kg at 169cm tall with a body mass index of 35.8, which allowed him to serve in a non-combat role at a government agency.
According to South Korean law, all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 28 must join the military and serve 18 months in active service. In 2020, the law was revised to allow globally recognised K-pop stars to postpone their service until they turned 30.
Those who evade their mandatory military service without justifiable cause can be jailed for up to three years under the military law.
The defendant reportedly followed a weight-gain regimen planned by his friend, who was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, for aiding and abetting.
The friend denied the accusation and said he never thought the defendant would go through with the plan.
The court reportedly handed a “relatively lenient punishment” for the defendant and his friend as the duo held no previous criminal record. The defendant acknowledged his wrongdoing and vowed to sincerely serve his military duty, according to the Korean daily.
Earlier in 2018, a dozen South Korean college students deliberately made themselves overweight by consuming large amounts of protein powder and drinking copious amounts of juice the day before their physical exam to avoid service.
