False Mental Illness and Intentional Weight Control... Increasing Cases of Military Service Evasion

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Most Avoided Imprisonment

Recently, the number of people evading military service through various methods such as false mental illness claims and intentional weight manipulation has been increasing. However, most have avoided imprisonment by receiving suspended prison sentences. This inevitably leads to criticism that punishments for military service evaders are too lenient.

A subject undergoing examination at the Seoul Regional Military Manpower Administration in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, is receiving a 'Active Duty Eligible' result.
[Photo by Kim Hyun-min]

According to the Military Manpower Administration on the 1st, the number of publicly disclosed military service evaders over the past five years was 261 in 2019, 256 in 2020, 342 in 2021, 281 in 2022, and 355 in 2023. As of last year, there were 109 cases of evasion of active duty enlistment, 46 cases of evasion of social service personnel summons, 2 cases of evasion of alternative service summons, 23 cases of evasion of military physical examination, and 175 cases of violation of overseas travel permission obligations. The Military Manpower Administration grants a six-month opportunity for explanation, then finalizes the list of publicly disclosed evaders through a review by the Military Service Evasion Public Disclosure Committee.

The representative types of military service evasion include mental illness and weight control. On the 19th of last month, Judge Jo Aram of the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 7 sentenced A (31) to one year in prison with a two-year suspension and ordered 120 hours of community service for violating the Military Service Act. A was classified as an active duty enlistment candidate in the initial military physical examination in October 2011. In 2016, A again received a grade 3 classification and was found to have told acquaintances things like, "I pushed for psychiatry but got a grade 3," and "I almost got a grade 4 but foolishly didn’t say more," according to investigations.

From October 2018 to June 2021, A received outpatient psychiatric treatment at a university hospital in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, and was issued a medical certificate by the attending physician stating that "exposure to social situations causes severe anxiety and performance impairment." Ultimately, in June 2021, A was assigned to supplementary service with a grade 4 classification, and expressed resentment when acquaintances showed discomfort.

B, a former youth national soccer team member and professional player of 'FIFA Online 4,' was sentenced in January at the Incheon District Court to one year in prison with a two-year suspension and 120 hours of community service. B was indicted for submitting false psychiatric certificates to the Incheon Military Manpower Office in May and December 2020, which were obtained by deceiving psychiatrists.

B was initially classified as physical grade 2 to 3, eligible for active duty enlistment, due to skin disease in the first military physical examination in 2011 and the re-examination five years later. In 2018, B received a grade 4 classification for social service due to being overweight. B sought to be exempted from military training and reserve forces enrollment by obtaining false psychiatric certificates to receive a grade 4 classification for mental illness.

Under current law, anyone who evades or conceals themselves to avoid military service or reduction, or who damages their body or uses deception, is subject to imprisonment from one to five years. In 2022, there were a total of 579 first-instance rulings for violations of the Military Service Act, with 379 cases (65.4%) receiving suspended sentences, 146 cases (25.2%) receiving prison sentences, and 11 cases (1.8%) acquitted.

Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of the Department of Police Science at Konkuk University stated, "The increase in evaders amid a shrinking military manpower pool is a serious social problem," adding, "The main cause appears to be the growing perception that serving in the military is a disadvantage, along with changes in individuals’ views on the nation and national security."