By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The police said Friday they had caught five men on suspicion of intentionally injuring their bodies in order to dodge the mandatory military service.
According to Seoul Police Station, the five were classified in 2001 as healthy and fit to be conscripted. But they underwent a procedure aimed at dislocating their shoulders between 2006 and 2007 and were exempted from the duty.
"Among them was a professional soccer player," said a police officer familiar with the situation. "We will widen the investigation due to information that there are more people who have dodged their duty in this manner."
Korean males aged 18 or above are mandated to serve as soldiers for at least two years.
Dozens of men are caught by the authorities each year for dodging the service by intentionally injuring themselves. The parents of draft dodgers caught in 2002 included 133 Army officers, seven of them generals.