South Korean man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service

SEOUL - A 26-year-old man was found guilty of evading national service after he had deliberately gained weight to avoid serving in the military.

Seoul Eastern Dongbu district court recently sentenced the man to a year in prison and suspended him for two years for violating the military service act.

The man deliberately gained weight by doubling his daily food intake and consuming a large amount of water just before his physical examination to enter the military.

He followed a regimen cooked up by a friend of his, who encouraged him by providing specific plans to gain weight.

The friend was sentenced to six months in prison and suspended for two years. He had denied the accusation by claiming that he never thought his friend would go through with it.

The man was assessed at grade 2 in his initial physical exam in October 2017, the second-highest grade, which would qualify him to serve in a combat role.

But he was given grade 4 when he weighed in at 102.3kg in the final physical exam in June 2023. At 169cm tall, he had a body mass index of 35.8, making him heavily obese.

This allowed him to serve in a non-combat role at a government agency while commuting from home.

South Korea requires all able-bodied men to serve in the military for at least 18 months.

The court said it decided on a relatively lenient punishment for the defendant and his friend, pointing out that they have no previous criminal convictions and that the defendant acknowledged his wrongdoing and vowed to sincerely serve his military duty. THE KOREA HERALD / ASIA NEWS NETWORK