Soldier Who Forged Leave Pass to Visit PC Bang... Imprisoned Again in Appeal Trial

Changed the Date on a Scanned Leave Pass to Forge It
Sentenced to Six Months in Prison, One-Year Suspension

A soldier who deserted his unit by forging a special leave pass was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the appellate court, following the first trial. It was revealed that the soldier played games at a PC cafe near the unit after leaving with the forged leave pass.

On the 7th, the Criminal Division 2 of Chuncheon District Court (Chief Judge Kim Seong-rae) sentenced A (24), who was indicted on charges of forgery of official documents, use of forged official documents, and unauthorized absence, to six months in prison with a one-year suspension, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency on the same day.

Currently a reservist, A enlisted in the Air Force in July 2022. On June 16, 2023, while serving at a unit in Socho-myeon, Wonju-si, Gangwon Province, he asked his fellow soldier B to forge a special leave pass. Special leave is a type of leave individually authorized by a commander for soldiers during or after duty hours for visits, awards, hospital treatment, weekday outings, or other special circumstances. A was prosecuted for presenting the forged special leave pass to the soldier guarding the unit’s gate five times between June and July of the same year, leaving the unit without permission from the battalion commander.

A asked B to forge an already legitimately issued leave pass, and B committed the crime by scanning the original pass and altering the date and time on a laptop computer. Investigations revealed that A spent four hours gaming at a PC cafe near the unit on four of the five unauthorized absences, and on one occasion, he visited his grandfather’s house near the unit. He mostly visited the PC cafe on Wednesdays and Fridays using the forged leave pass.

The Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch, which handled the first trial, stated, "Such actions, done lightly, could undermine military discipline and cause significant damage to national defense capabilities," and noted that "forgery of official documents and use of forged official documents are serious crimes punishable only by imprisonment," sentencing him to a suspended prison term. The prosecution appealed the first trial’s verdict.

Upon reviewing the case, the appellate court noted that A had previously been sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year suspension by the Third Regional Military Court last June for trespassing a guard post, which became final, and thus overturned the original verdict for legal reasons. However, the court maintained the sentence, considering factors such as the significant blameworthiness for lowering the morale of soldiers fulfilling their national defense duties properly and disrupting military discipline, and the severity of the crimes of forgery and use of forged official documents, which are punishable only by imprisonment under the law.