Man convicted of having body tattooed to dodge military service
A draft dodger in his 20s has been sentenced to a year’s jail, suspended for two years, for using tattoos to evade mandatory military service, according to Uijeongbu District Court in Gyeonggi Province on Nov. 24. / Yonhap
By Hong Dam-young
A man has been given a jail term for having his body covered with tattoos to avoid mandatory military service.
Under the conscription law, men with “excessive” tattoos on their bodies are immune from duty for fear that they could upset other soldiers.
The man, 20, was sentenced to one year in prison with the term suspended for two years, the court in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, revealed Monday.
“Dodging the draft is a serious crime,” said Judge Park Jin-hwan in a ruling statement. “I took into account all evidence submitted and concluded that he had his body covered with tattoos with the intention of dodging military service.”
The court said the man began getting tattoos when he was a middle school student.