Being overweight won’t help you dodge bullets, but it might help you escape mandatory military service in South Korea — unless you get caught.
A Korean court recently served up a prison sentence to a 26-year-old man who stuffed his face until he was too fat to serve in combat roles, local media reported.
The dough-eyed draft-dodger doubled his food intake in the weeks leading up to the physical exam for military service, which is mandatory for all able-bodied men in the country, according to the Korean Herald.
His friend also received a six-month prison sentence for cooking up the binge-eating boot camp that helped the man balloon up, the outlet continued.
By the time of his exam, the 5-foot-6-inch defendant weighed in at 225 pounds — obese enough for him to qualify for a non-combat role and commute from home.
Avoiding the draft in South Korea carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but the court gave the man a short sentence, suspended two years, as he had no previous criminal convictions and vowed to serve the military faithfully, the Herald reported.
Meanwhile, the man’s friend told the court he had suggested the weight gain routine as a joke and never intended his pal to go through with it.
He wasn’t the first Korean man to attempt to out-eat his service obligation.
In 2018, a dozen South Korean college graduates packed on the pounds — binging on pizza, hamburgers and more — so they could avoid service. (Military, not restaurant.)
One pudgy private gained 66 pounds in just six months.
Korea’s latest dumpy dodger may have eaten his way out of front-line combat for now, but he’ll have plenty of time to slim down in jail.
