“Contacting a broker to delay enlistment… I will diligently conduct the investigation.”
▲ Song Deok-ho. Beasters Entertainment
Actor Song Deok-ho (30, Kim Jeong-hyeon), who appeared in the drama ‘D.P’ and made his face known, admitted to the suspicion of evading military service and apologized.
On the 31st, Beasters Entertainment, the agency, said, “Last summer, I searched for information on the Internet to postpone my enlistment. I received counseling through a blog,” he said.
Song Deok-ho also dropped out of the work he recently joined due to suspicion of evading military service. Song Deok-ho said, “I have been investigated by the police. “I deeply reflect on this incident and sincerely apologize to many people for disappointing me. He apologized for causing controversy.”
Song Deok-ho made his debut in the 2018 movie ‘Burning’ (director Lee Chang-dong) and made his face known through the dramas ‘D.P’ (2021) and ‘Juvenile Judgment’ (2022). Last year, he starred in the dramas ‘Link: Eat, Love, Kill’, ‘One Dang Baek Butler’ and the currently airing tvN drama ‘Missing: They Were 2’.
The prosecution and the Military Manpower Administration have set up a joint investigation team into military service corruption and are investigating cases of fake epilepsy. It is known that Song Deok-ho asked a broker for military service, Gu Mo (47), to evade military service and paid the price. Song Deok-ho initially inquired regarding how to postpone his military service, but it is said that Mr. Goo asked for money, saying, “I will make you exempt.” Goo was arrested and indicted on December 21 last year.
Prosecutors believe that Song Deok-ho escaped military service by delaying the symptoms of epilepsy as instructed by Mr. Gu. The office of Mr. Gu was seized and searched, and medical records for military service were also secured.
檢 indicted 22 people related to false epilepsy and evasion of military service
▲ Mr. Kim, a military service broker accused of arranging a false diagnosis of epilepsy and accepting over 100 million won in money, headed to the vehicle following the interrogation of the suspect before arrest (examination of warrant validity) held at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 9th. there is. 2023.1.9. news 1
Previously, on the 26th, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office charged 22 people, including 15 military service evaders, 6 accomplices, and a military service broker, Mr. Kim (37), in connection with the corruption case of faking military service exemption for patients with epilepsy under joint investigation with the Military Manpower Administration. He said he was accused of
Military service broker Kim is accused of arranging fake epilepsy diagnoses for military service exemption requests and even making threatening offers. On the 9th, an arrest warrant was already issued for Mr. Kim on the grounds of ‘concern regarding the destruction of evidence and escape’ and he is being held in detention.
Mr. Kim opened an Internet military service counseling cafe to lure conscripts, etc., and promised, “If you pretend to be an epileptic patient according to the scenario I gave you, I will exempt you from military service,” and received a total of 206.1 million won in the name of consulting fees. .
Those who escaped military service, including golfer A (25), doctor B (30), and professional gamer coach C (26), pretended to be epileptic patients according to the scenario provided by Kim, and received false medical certificates, drug prescriptions, and treatment at medical institutions. He is suspected of receiving a reduction or exemption from military service by obtaining records and submitting them to the Military Manpower Administration.
In addition, family members and acquaintances of military service evaders who went beyond simple aiding and abetting, contracted directly with brokers or paid the price, and pretended to be false witnesses and guardians were prosecuted as accomplices.
“Nervous system diseases such as epilepsy and schizophrenia are difficult to objectively determine”
Knowing that epilepsy and schizophrenia were the shortcut to exemption from military service, they systematically moved to evade the law. He was exempted from military service by obtaining a false diagnosis by exploiting the fact that it was not a clearly visible disease like other traumas.
It is known that the brokers informed those who wish to avoid military service in detail regarding the symptoms of epilepsy before being diagnosed at the hospital, and informed their families of the related information. It gave me the answers to be given in the questionnaire to receive a diagnosis of epilepsy.
On the 9th, Yoon Byung-kwan, a former judicial officer at the Military Manpower Administration and a representative lawyer of the law firm Success, appeared on YTN radio and said, “The degree of symptoms and manifestations of neurological diseases such as epilepsy vary greatly from person to person, and MRI scans determine the severity of the symptoms or whether they are false. It is quite difficult to judge by me or EEG. In fact, it is said that regarding half of patients with epilepsy do not have any abnormal findings as a result of EEG or MRI readings. Therefore, even as a specialist, it is said that there are many cases in which epilepsy is diagnosed by looking at the patient’s clinical symptoms or aspects.”
According to the office of Congressman Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea, 633 cases in 2021 and 578 cases last year were grade 4 or lower due to epilepsy in the military service screening test. Among those subject to reexamination, 206 in 2021 and 180 last year were judged below grade 4 due to epilepsy.
An official from the prosecution emphasized that “evading military service is a representative serious crime that hinders the fairness and integration of our society along with irregularities in the entrance examination.”
Reporter Lee Bo-hee
