'False Epilepsy' Military Service Broker Admits Charges in First Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] Broker Gu Mo (47), who helped evade military service by using a false epilepsy diagnosis method, admitted all charges at his first trial.

Judge Cho Sangmin of the Criminal Division 9 at Seoul Southern District Court held the first trial session on the 27th at 11 a.m. for military service broker Gu, who is accused of violating the Military Service Act and obstructing official duties by deception. Gu, who appeared in court, stated, "I admit all the facts of the indictment." He also agreed to all evidence submitted by the prosecution, including medical records and counseling contents of those evading military service.

Gu's side argued, "He confessed to all charges during the investigation phase," and requested that his cooperative attitude with the prosecution since his detention and indictment on December 21 last year be taken into consideration for sentencing. Gu also showed signs of admitting guilt by submitting a letter of apology to the court on the 17th.

Meanwhile, Gu's side pointed out the ambiguity of the military service evaluation criteria, stating, "It is not simply important to punish the defendant, but to prevent military service evasion by reinforcing and strengthening the evaluation standards for epilepsy."

Gu is accused of informing conscripts how to obtain a false epilepsy diagnosis from February 2020 to October last year and submitting the issued diagnosis certificates to the Military Manpower Administration to reduce their military service obligations. During this process, he reportedly received tens of millions of won as consultation fees. In epilepsy cases, about 50% are not confirmed by EEG or MRI wave diagnostics, and even if not detected in wave tests, military service can be reduced after more than one year of treatment, which he exploited.

Additionally, Gu created a military service-related counseling cafe on the internet site Naver and advised clients on how to be diagnosed with epilepsy despite having no symptoms, conspiring with seven conscripts to evade military service. He also operated under the alias "Representative of the Armed Forces Defense Administration" and was active on Naver blogs and knowledge-sharing platforms since December 2018.

At the trial, the possibility of additional indictments of other evaders besides those currently charged was raised. When Judge Cho asked if there were any questions regarding sentencing, the prosecution said, "There is a possibility of additional indictments among other military service evaders being investigated by the joint investigation team." However, Gu's side claimed in a statement that there were no separate cases.

Besides professional volleyball player Jo Jaesung (28) of the OK Financial Group, who admitted to evading military service using the false epilepsy diagnosis method, rapper Ravi (30, real name Kim Wonsik), professional soccer players, and others are reported to be among Gu's clients.

The next trial date for Gu is scheduled for March 22 at 10:40 a.m.

Meanwhile, the day before, the prosecution indicted a total of 22 people, including another military service broker Kim Mo (37), who operated using similar methods, 15 military service evaders, and 6 other accomplices.

Kim is accused of obtaining false diagnosis certificates from medical institutions by faking epilepsy symptoms and submitting them to the Military Manpower Administration to reduce military service obligations. Among the 15 evaders are Coach A (26), a former professional gamer of the prestigious team in the game "League of Legends (LoL)," doctors, and golf players.