Singer MC MONG spoke directly about the military service controversy surrounding him and the nickname "발치몽".
On the 18th MC MONG conducted an SNS live broadcast and addressed his position on the past military service controversy one by one. Appearing with a somber expression, he opened his remarks, saying, "안녕하십니까 MC MONG입니다. 어떻게 얘기해야 할지 몰랐다. 28년간 MC MONG이라는 이름으로 살아왔다."
He continued, "I had many nicknames. There was '발치몽' too. I lived enjoying great popularity, but there were also long periods when I felt my image had plummeted," and "Many people created the image about me."
Above all, MC MONG said he most regretted the press conference at the time of the military service fraud controversy. He said, "What I most regret is crying at the press conference about the military service fraud," and "I regret reading the script the lawyers wrote for me. Why couldn't I say what I wanted to say?" He added, "Today I want to go back to 2010 and say what I wanted to say then along with what I want to say now."
In particular, MC MONG directly addressed past media reports. He recalled, "There were claims that 'he deliberately pulled teeth to get exempted from military service,' 'he pulled out live teeth,' and 'he handed over 80 million won,'" and "After that news came out I became known nationwide as '발치몽'." He also asserted, "I was not exempted because I had no teeth; I was already subject to exemption before that due to herniated discs in my back, neck discs and an anterior cruciate ligament, among other things."
He expressed regret, saying, "But that didn't matter. When people see that news they think, 'MC MONG pulled out his live teeth.' People were thrilled by that aspect."
He also said, "At the time I submitted an X-ray from 1999 showing my dental condition to the police," and asserted, "Materials showing that 18 teeth were in a collapsed state were submitted as evidence, but that evidence disappeared." He added, "Those around me also wanted to speak about the injustice," and "Going through that made me think that in this country evidence can disappear but it can also be fabricated."
However, these remarks are MC MONG's personal claims made during the live broadcast. Earlier MC MONG received a not-guilty ruling from the Supreme Court on charges of evading military service by deliberate tooth extraction in a military service-related trial
[Photo] SNS
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