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Man handed suspended sentence for intentionally losing weight to dodge conscription

Published: 01 Jan. 2026, 14:27 Updated: 01 Jan. 2026, 19:17

Korean soldiers at an Army camp [YONHAP]

The Daegu District Court on Thursday handed a suspended prison sentence to a man convicted of deliberately losing weight to avoid active-duty military service.

The court sentenced the man to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, after finding him guilty of violating the Military Service Act.

Under Korean law, all able-bodied men are required to complete at least 18 months of military service. Those who fail the physical exam for active service but are not seriously ill are assigned to 21 months of alternative service as social service workers at public institutions, including government offices and subway stations.

The court found that the man intentionally lost weight to qualify for alternative service. In February 2021, he learned that a body mass index below 16 would place him in Grade 4 physical status, making him eligible for assignment as a social service worker.

From July to September that year, the man jumped rope 1,000 times a day and sharply reduced his food intake for at least three days ahead of his physical examination to lose weight, according to the indictment.

Standing 175 centimeters (5 feet, 9 inches) tall and weighing more than 50 kilograms (110.2 pounds) at a point in the year prior to the test, he was measured at 46.9 kilograms, with a BMI of 15.3, during his first military physical examination at the Daegu-North Gyeongsang branch of the Military Manpower Administration on Sept. 16, 2021.

Korean soldiers at an Army camp [YONHAP]

At a second examination on Nov. 29, his weight was recorded at 47.8 kilograms, with a BMI of 15.5, leading to his classification as a social service worker in the supplementary reserve.

The man claimed he jumped rope solely to improve his fitness and did not intentionally reduce his food or water intake. However, urine test results indicated the possibility of starvation or prolonged fasting.

The court rejected his claim, citing messages exchanged between the man and his acquaintances.

“The man intentionally lost weight to evade active-duty military service and even encouraged friends to use the same method,” the court said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]