Criteria for Head Injury Assessment in Military Service Physical Examination Rules (Military Physical Examination Regulations) [Photo by Document File Capture]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] "'It's hard to be judged based on just a 'seizure show'..."
As the prosecution expands its investigation into various figures in sports, entertainment, and the legal profession who evaded military service by falsely obtaining epilepsy diagnoses, questions remain about how they were able to avoid military duty.
According to legal circles on the 7th, it is absolutely not easy to be diagnosed with epilepsy under the 'Military Service Physical Examination Rules' set by the Ministry of National Defense. The standards are high, and the regulations require double or triple verification procedures.
According to the 'Degree and Evaluation Criteria of Disease and Mental and Physical Disability' specified in these rules, epilepsy seizures are classified as 'neurological disabilities' caused by head trauma (a condition where the head is injured by external impact). To be rated as Grade 4, there must be clear radiological findings even if there are no visible neurological disabilities. The findings must be objectively proven, including being consistent even after re-examination six months post-injury, and there must be widely accepted medical evidence supporting this. Simple 'seizure show' videos alone cannot qualify for an epilepsy diagnosis, as double and triple verification mechanisms have been established.
This content is regulated by the Ministry of National Defense, so institutions that determine military service grades, such as the Military Manpower Administration, must strictly adhere to it. Failure to comply results in legal penalties. If the Military Manpower Administration and others consider Mr. Gu, a military service broker, and his clients as victims who were deceived, it means the opinions they submitted were either meticulously credible or there was an accomplice who approved the judgment despite issues. Legal circles point this out and emphasize that the prosecution's investigation should focus on 'organized crime.'
The prosecution also appears to be investigating this possibility. A prosecution official told this publication in a phone interview, "The professional opinion of doctors did not have an absolute influence on the epilepsy diagnosis." This suggests that something beyond the procedures such as the submitted medical opinions at the time of the physical examination was involved in this case.
According to what the prosecution has revealed so far, Mr. Gu informed his clients how to obtain epilepsy medical opinions by visiting specific hospitals and even provided scripts to help them act accordingly. In the medical community, epilepsy diagnosis is known to be a disease that even specialists find difficult to diagnose accurately, so it is believed that Mr. Gu and his clients exploited this knowledge in advance. Certain medical personnel who were well aware of this may have cooperated with Mr. Gu and others.
The prosecution is intensifying investigations into people around Mr. Gu. Besides Mr. Kim, who is currently known to be involved in the crime among the branch managers of the administrative office operated by Mr. Gu, they are investigating whether there are additional accomplices. Mr. Kim, under non-custodial investigation, was in charge of operating a regional branch of the office established by Mr. Gu. They are also examining whether there is a specific medical institution that Mr. Gu continuously received help from.
The ripple effects of the case continue to spread widely. Following volleyball and soccer, it has been confirmed that equestrian and bowling athletes have also been implicated in military service corruption and are under prosecution investigation. According to the office of Assemblyman Bae Jin-kyo of the Justice Party, a member of the National Defense Committee, the 'Joint Investigation Team for Military Service Evasion' formed by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office and the Military Manpower Administration is investigating equestrian and bowling athletes, health trainers, and rappers. On the 4th, they summoned Jo Jae-sung (27), a player for the men's professional volleyball team OK Financial Group, and earlier, they questioned Mr. A, who plays in the K League 1, the top division of professional soccer.
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