Army trainee deliberately injured himself to dodge service

A man was sentenced a suspended jail time for intentionally rupturing his knee to be dismissed from mandatory military service, Tuesday, according to Gwangju District Court. Gettyimagesbank

By Lee Gyu-lee

An army trainee was sentenced to eight months' jail suspended for two years, Tuesday, for intentionally injuring himself so he could be dismissed from mandatory military service, according to Gwangju District Court.

The defendant, 22, was prosecuted for purposely jumping off a 1.5 meter-high weapon storage cabinet at an Army training center in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, in April last year.

He had overheard a fellow trainee talking about methods to injure cruciate ligaments in the knee and get exemption from the service because of the injury. He then used the method to rupture his knee and was dismissed from training shortly after.

The defendant said he decided to injure himself after his girlfriend told him over the phone that she was having a hard time being separated.

“Given that this is his first offense and he was injured from the crime, the court has considered extenuating circumstances,” the court said.