A suspended prison sentence has been finalized for a man in his 20s who, saying he did not want to enlist as an active-duty soldier, obtained a false medical certificate from a hospital claiming he needed psychiatric treatment and was classified as a social service agent.
According to legal sources on the 26th, the Supreme Court (Presiding Justice Noh Kyung-pil) on the 30th of last month finalized the lower court's sentence of one year in prison, suspended for two years, and 80 hours of community service for a person surnamed Jeon (25), who was indicted on charges of violating the Military Service Act.
According to the court, Jeon said at his first draft physical in Nov. 2019 that "I had difficulty with peer relationships because of an introverted personality. After the College Scholastic Ability Test, I felt suicidal impulses." The Military Manpower Administration classified Jeon as grade 7, subject to reexamination.
At the reexamination in June 2020, Jeon said, "I have not been able to receive hospital treatment during that time," and received grade 7 again. Around then, Jeon began receiving treatment from psychiatrists at a hospital in Nam District, Daegu, saying things like "I could hardly leave the house" and "When I am alone at night, I think, what is the point of living like this." Doctor A said Jeon was suspected of having depressive disorder and social phobia and issued a military-use medical certificate.
However, at the reexamination in Feb. 2021, the Military Manpower Administration again gave Jeon grade 7, saying it was hard to see that he had received regular medication treatment. Until Sept. of the same year, Jeon told hospital doctors, "I took all the medicine, but I don't feel any change." After obtaining a medical certificate stating "continuous treatment is necessary," Jeon in Sept. 2021 received a supplemental service grade 4 physical rating, subject to call-up as a social service agent.
But an investigation by a special judicial police officer at the Daegu Regional Military Manpower Administration found that Jeon had served as class president and homeroom representative in elementary, middle, and high school. From 2019 to 2021, he also worked part-time at convenience stores and PC rooms and participated in a college club. In Feb. 2020, he also traveled to Japan with friends. Jeon had prescriptions from the hospital filled only once, but deceived doctors into believing he was taking the medication properly.
On Jeon's cellphone were records of conversations with friends and seniors such as "Should I really go for jeonggong? I'm dead serious," and "I'm going to hospitals a lot to try to get public service as much as possible." Jeonggong is an internet slang term referring to "a person who became a social service agent (public service worker) due to a mental illness."
The first-instance court said of Jeon, "The nature of the crime is not good, but there is no prior criminal record," and sentenced him to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered 80 hours of community service. Jeon appealed, but the appellate court dismissed it. Jeon filed a final appeal, but the Supreme Court dismissed it, saying there was no error in the lower court's judgment.