“Did you intentionally lose weight to avoid military service?” 20-year-old acquitted

A man in his 20s who was accused of deliberately losing weight to avoid military service was acquitted.

According to the legal community on the 18th, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Mr. A, in his 20s, who was accused of violating the Military Service Act on the 11th of last month.

Mr. A was designated as a social worker through a military service examination in 2019, but is accused of intentionally losing weight by visiting a sauna and sweating during the process.

In 2019, when Mr. A was tested, if his BMI index was less than 17, he was classified as physical class 4 and could serve as a social worker.

In fact, Mr. A's BMI index was measured at 16.7 at the time of the first examination and he was judged to be level 4, but he was put on hold as a subject for unannounced measurement.

In a test conducted a few months later, the BMI was found to be 16.9, and Mr. A was finally judged to have a body grade of 4.

In relation to this, an acquaintance of Mr. A came under investigation with suspicions of military service evasion, but Mr. A completely denied the charges.

He claims that he has a naturally thin constitution and has remained underweight since high school.

The prosecution also determined that Mr. A was not guilty.

The prosecution explained, "Although we knew that he had been selected as a subject for unannounced measurement during the military service examination, his BMI index actually increased during the subsequent unannounced measurement. If the suspect had intentionally intended to lose weight, he would have adjusted the BMI value to be lower than during the first test."

Law firm Daeryun Kim Seong-ik, who represented Mr. A, said, "A person's weight can fluctuate by about 1 to 2 kg a year depending on his or her lifestyle pattern. Mr. A's BMI index temporarily exceeded 17 when he was in high school, but the figure decreased again due to his irregular lifestyle pattern."

He added, "It is difficult to believe that Mr. A, who is underweight, experienced a significant change in his weight by going to the sauna and sweating out, and based on experience, it was difficult to understand that he attempted to evade military service by relying only on weight loss in the sauna." He added, "It appears that the investigative agency also took this situation into consideration and decided not to charge."

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"Did you lose weight on purpose to avoid military service?" People in their 20s who were cleared of charges (link)