Draft Dodgers Get More Inventive

Published on 2017/09/24 | Source

Young Korean men are getting more inventive in their attempts to avoid mandatory military service.

According to a report on failed cases of military exemption in the past five years from the Defense Ministry, 227 would-be draft dodgers were foiled from 2013 to the end of June this year.

There has been a steady rise from 45 in 2013 to 54 last year and 38 in the first half of 2017 alone.

The most common ruse with 57 cases was to try and effect rapid weight loss or gain. The second at 52 was shared by getting a lot of tattoos and faking mental illness. It was followed by faking impaired sight with 22.

The report was submitted to Minjoo Party lawmaker Seo Young-kyo, who made it public on Sunday.