A South Korean court sentenced a man to a year in prison after he binge-ate his way out of military service. The 26-year-old, who was not identified, deliberately overate to reach more than 102 kg (225 lbs) before his military physical examination. According to the Korean Herald, he hoped to be classified as too sickly for combat and assigned to a non-combat civilian service.
To reach his goal, the man ate voraciously, gorging himself with food, including instant noodles, pizza, and fried chicken. In just three months, his weight surged by 24 kg (52.8 lbs). His BMI shot up to 37.8, which put him into the category of an obese person. The plan was to use the resultant weight gain as justification for exemption from military service, which is compulsory for all able-bodied South Korean men from age 18 to 35 years.
The fraud was then discovered, and he was indicted for attempting to evade the draft. Because the penalty for draft evasion is a maximum of three years, his sentence was lessened because he had not committed a prior offense and was “willing to accept military service.” He ultimately received a one-year suspended sentence whereas a friend who had helped him by urging him to consume large amounts of food was given six months in prison.
In court, he testified that the idea was first put forward as a joke and that he never thought his friend would actually do it.
In South Korea, every man above the age of 18 is expected to serve in the army for a minimum period of 18 months, a policy enshrined over the sail of uneasy relations with North Korea. It means universal conscription for adequate personnel supply for national defense. Exemptions are granted for health problems or outstanding achievements in sports and/or the arts, but trying to evade the service by intentionally taking some actions draws stern punishments.
This is similar to an incident reported in 2018 when several South Korean college graduates attempted to evade military duty by deliberately putting on weight so they could be considered too obese for combat.
