Bold Brokers Openly Operating Under the Guise of 'Professional Counseling'

'Hashtagging "Top in Re-examination Military Service Judgment"
Experts "Expansion of Special Judicial Police and More Should Be Considered"'

[Asia Economy Reporters Hwang Seoyul and Jang Sehee] Recently, as the types of intentional military service evasion have diversified, brokers have been developing new methods to conduct their business.

On the 20th, Asia Economy's investigation revealed that multiple military service brokers posted content implying their brokerage activities under the name "professional consultation" on their Naver Knowledge iN profiles. They were known to use hashtags such as "No.1 in military service physical re-examination and military judgment."

Some even boldly established offices. Gu Mo, who was arrested and indicted last December, set up an office related to military service issues in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and provided consultations. He gathered clients under the activity name "Representative of the Armed Forces Defense Administration" since December 2018 through Naver blogs and Knowledge iN. Knowledge iN is a site where users post questions and other users respond. Gu reportedly answered military service-related consultations via Knowledge iN and then moved to paid consultations. After consultations, he sometimes received consultation fees exceeding 10 million won.

Military service brokers created disqualifying physical conditions necessary for military service to help clients obtain exemptions. While some methods involved intentionally damaging the body, they recently exploited deceptive methods such as issuing false medical certificates for "fake epilepsy," which became a recent issue. They also claimed to connect clients with specific hospitals and doctors. Because of this, prosecutors are investigating all possibilities, including doctors and medical institutions that issued epilepsy diagnoses based on hospital epilepsy treatment records.

Experts advise considering the expansion of special judicial police and special benefits such as reduced penalties for informants. Criminal law specialist lawyer Cheon Juhyun said, "The special judicial police should be greatly expanded and the reward system activated," adding, "If those involved in military service evasion receive benefits such as reduced sentences, it will enable investigations through whistleblowing." Currently, 40 special judicial police officers are working at the Military Manpower Administration.

Lawyer Cheon stated, "Violations of the Military Service Act often result in imprisonment or detention investigations, but the crime of issuing false medical certificates carries relatively light punishment as it is a minimum sentence," and added, "Furthermore, accomplices in violating the Military Service Act should also be charged." Violations of the Military Service Act are punishable by imprisonment from one to five years, whereas issuing false medical certificates is punishable by up to three years imprisonment, up to seven years disqualification, or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Professor Lee Woonghyuk of Konkuk University’s Department of Police Science analyzed, "This frequently occurs among certain professions such as celebrities and athletes," explaining, "Because of their desire for personal profit and reputation." He diagnosed, "In cases of military service corruption, it is unlikely that a single broker can obtain exemption alone; it is highly probable that medical staff and those conducting physical assessments are involved." He emphasized that the police, prosecutors, Military Manpower Administration, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must cooperate organically to resolve this issue.