Broker who faked epilepsy to help celebrities and athletes evade military service sentenced to 5 years in prison

A broker who falsified epilepsy diagnoses to help celebrities, athletes, and other conscripts lower their military service grades or obtain exemptions has been sentenced to prison.

On the 6th, Judge Kim Yoon-hee of the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced Gu Mo (47), who was detained and indicted on charges of violating the Military Service Act, to five years in prison and ordered a fine of 1,379,870,000 KRW.

The court stated, "The crimes in this case were meticulously planned over a considerable period, and the profits gained were enormous, reflecting the serious nature of the offense," adding, "Young men who faithfully fulfilled their national defense duties likely felt a sense of loss due to this case," explaining the sentencing rationale.

Gu was indicted in March for submitting false epilepsy diagnosis certificates to the Military Manpower Administration on behalf of over 40 individuals seeking to evade military service from February 2020 to October last year, receiving money in return.

Gu exploited the fact that even epilepsy patients sometimes do not show abnormal findings in EEG tests, making it possible to diagnose epilepsy through consistent medical records.

Clients of Gu included volleyball player Jo Jae-seong, soccer players Kim Myung-jun and Kim Seung-jun, and rappers Nafla and Ravi. Except for Nafla, all were sentenced in the first trial to one year in prison with a two-year probation. Nafla was sentenced to one year in prison.

Meanwhile, another military service broker, Kim Mo (38), who informed clients about evasion methods using false epilepsy diagnoses and received fees, was sentenced to three years in prison.