Man who faked mental illness to avoid military service gets suspended prison term
People walk past the Supreme Court building in Seocho District, Seoul. Yonhap
The Supreme Court has upheld a suspended prison sentence for a man in his 20s who pretended to suffer from mental illness for two years to avoid mandatory military service.
According to officials on Tuesday, the Supreme Court recently confirmed a lower court ruling that sentenced the 25-year-old defendant, identified only as Jeon, to one year in prison with two years of probation for violating the Military Service Act.
Jeon first appeared for a physical and mental examination in November 2019 and told officials he had experienced suicidal impulses after the national college entrance exam. He was classified as a grade 7 candidate, requiring reexamination. At his second examination in June 2020, he again received a reexamination order.
He then misled psychiatrists at a university hospital in Daegu to obtain a certificate stating he showed suspected symptoms of depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder and required continued monitoring. He submitted the document to the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Regional Military Manpower Administration.
When a third examination once again found him to be grade 7 due to a lack of ongoing treatment records, Jeon told hospital physicians he had “been taking medication consistently” and “felt no improvement despite taking it.”
He obtained another certificate listing suspected depressive and social anxiety symptoms and submitted it to authorities. In September 2021, at his fourth examination, he finally received a grade 4 designation, making him eligible for social service rather than active duty.
However, investigators from the Military Manpower Administration’s special judicial police uncovered the scheme, and Jeon was indicted in January 2024.
The court said Jeon had served as class president and student representative at school and engaged in part-time work and club activities, indicating normal social functioning, and misled both examination officials and prescribing psychiatrists.
Jeon appealed, claiming he suffered from an actual mental disorder, but the appellate court rejected the argument.
The court said he “took advantage of the nature of psychiatric treatment, which relies on patient-reported symptoms,” adding that such offenses are difficult to detect and pose significant risks to the conscription system. The Supreme Court agreed with the lower court’s reasoning and upheld the sentence.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.