A court in South Korea has found a man guilty of trying to avoid mandatory military service by deliberately gaining weight, local media report.
The 26-year-old began binge eating before his physical examination for the draft, a judge in the capital, Seoul, said. He was categorised as obese, allowing him to serve in a non-combat role at a government agency.
The defendant received a one-year suspended sentence. A friend who devised a special regimen that doubled his daily food intake got a six-month suspended sentence, the Korea Herald newspaper reports, external.
Is South Korea involved in any active combat (besides guarding the DMZ)? Or was he trying to avoid the training? I don’t blame him either way, but it seems low reward for the high risk.
What happens is that people are graded based on their health condition to see if they’re suitable candidate for conscription. Obviously, conscripting someone without a leg or a hand would be a bit silly. When you’re too overweight when that happens, you get put into 4급 (or lower), which means you’re unfit for conscription, and get put into alternative service instead. Since conscription lasts at least 1.5 years, it’s kinda worth it if you make it. Currently, for someone who is 174cm tall, you have to be below 45kg or above 121kg.