South Korea: 20-year-old man given suspended sentence for artificially increasing his weight to avoid military service and receiving a grade 4 physical exam

A man in his 20s who purposely gained weight in an attempt to avoid military service has been given a suspended prison sentence. According to legal circles, on the 23rd, the Seoul Eastern District Court gave a suspended prison sentence to Defendant A (26), who was indicted on suspicion of violating the Military Service Act.
He was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years. Defendant B (26), who was indicted on suspicion of aiding and abetting a violation of the Military Service Act, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years.
After the defendant A doubled his food intake and gained weight, he was given a final physical grade of Grade 4 in a second unannounced re-evaluation on June 2nd of last year.
Defendant B was accused of trying to evade military service. Defendant B is suspected of creating a meal plan for Defendant A and motivating him to gain weight.
As a result of the investigation, it was found that on October 17, 2017, Defendant A was given a physical grade of 2 in his first military service assessment, but he was not able to take university entrance exams, qualification exams, or departure waiting lists.
For various reasons, he postponed his enlistment several times. After that, on September 29, 2022, Defendant A will be subject to a re-enlistment examination, and if his BMI is 35 or higher, he will be given a physical grade of 4 and will be sent to the reserve service.
Defendant A decided to take advantage of the fact that he was receiving a portion of the meal, and artificially gain weight. Defendant A doubled his food intake based on the menu provided by Defendant B, and quit his part-time job, which consumed a lot of calories.
He also drank a lot of water just before the test to gain weight. In the end, Defendant A had a BMI of 36.9 at the re-enlistment test on December 7, 2022, and 37.4 at the first re-enlistment test on February 15 of the following year.
A surprise re-measurement showed a BMI of 36.1. A second surprise re-measurement on June 2nd of last year showed a BMI of 35.8, and Defendant A was ultimately given a physical grade of Grade 4.
The court said, "Defendant A admitted his mistake and stated that he would faithfully fulfill his military service obligations," and added, "We took into consideration the fact that the defendant had no prior criminal history and the circumstances after the crime."
He explained the reason.