A 26-year-old man was found guilty of evading national service after he was found to have deliberately gained weight to avoid serving in the military.

Seoul Eastern Dongbu District Court recently sentenced the defendant to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for violating the Military Service Act. The act stipulates that those who evade their mandatary military service without justifiable cause can be punished by up to three years in prison.

The defendant deliberately gained weight by doubling his daily food intake and consuming a large amount of water just before the physical examination for the military draft. He followed a regimen cooked up by a friend of his, who encouraged him by providing specific plans to gain weight.

The friend was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, for aiding and abetting. He had denied the accusation by claiming that he never thought his friend would go through with it.

The defendant was assessed at grade 2 in his initial physical exam in October 2017, the second-highest grade, which would qualify him to serve in a combat role.

But he got grade 4 when he weighed in at 102.3 kilograms in the final physical exam in June of 2023. At 169 centimeters tall, he had a body mass index of 35.8, making him heavily obese.

This allowed him to serve in a non-combat role at a government agency while commuting from home.

South Korea requires all able-bodied men to serve in the military for at least 18 months.

The court said it decided on a relatively lenient punishment for the defendant and his friend, pointing out that they have no previous criminal convictions and that the defendant acknowledged his wrongdoing and vowed to sincerely serve his military duty.