Entertainers draw fire with lies

MC Mong booked for having teeth extracted to dodge draft

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Singer MC Mong, 31, has been booked without physical detention on suspicion that he plucked out healthy teeth as a means to dodge the mandatory military service.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said the singer, whose real name is Shin Dong-hyun, had postponed entering the military service seven times from 1999 to 2006 by providing various excuses.

“He put off joining the army with reasons such as applying for the civil service examination, job training and traveling overseas. However, he filmed a movie and released albums during the period when he delayed the service,” a police officer said.

At the same time, MC Mong has been suspected of having healthy teeth extracted to dodge the draft.

According to the police, the singer and TV-show host was rated healthy enough for active-duty as a soldier at his first checkup in August 1998. In 2008, he had 12 teeth pulled and was able to get an exemption from military duty.

“The singer is claiming that he had those teeth removed because of cavities, but we confirmed that he extracted at least four of them to weaken his dental function and ultimately for an exemption from military service,” the officer said.

MC Mong denied the allegations in July when he was summoned for investigation. He is currently appearing in “1 Night 2 Days” on KBS and “Haha Mong Show” on SBS.

The viewers are requesting MC Mong leave the programs and the producer of “1 Night 2 Days” said they would defer the decision until the police’s final decision comes out.

SBS aired “Haha Mong Show” on Sunday morning despite the disputes surrounding MC Mong, inviting harsh criticism from viewers. Its homepage has been inundated with comments slamming the broadcaster for airing the show.

‘MC몽 생니 뽑아 병역면제’

서울지방경찰청 12일 가수 MC몽이 병역면제를 위해 멀쩡한 치아를 일부러 뽑은 것으로 보고 위계에 의한 공무집행방해 및 병역법 위반 혐의로 불구속 입건했다.

서울청 관계자는 MC몽은 기능에 문제가 없는 치아를 뽑아 치아기능점수 미달로 병역면제 판정을 받은 혐의를 받고 있다고 말했다.

조사결과에 따르면 MC몽은 공무원 시험 응시 등의 구실로 일곱 차례 입대를 연기했다는 것. 1998년 첫 신체검사 때는 최고등급인 1급 현역 판정을 받았으나 2007년 신체검사 당시는 치아 12개를 뽑은 상태였다.

경찰은 이 중 적어도 4개는 입대를 피할 목적으로 뽑은 것으로 보고 있다고 밝혔다.

SBS는 MC몽에 대한 비난 여론에도 불구하고 이날 오전 “하하몽쇼”를 방영 시청자들부터 거센 항의를 받았다.