New Suspicions About Candidates Draft Dodging

More suspicions are arising over the fact that many candidates in the upcoming elections were exempted from military duty due to their exceeding the maximum age limit after taking the physical examination for military service. Excessing the maximum age limit is rarely seen as a cause for exemption.

Moreover, 80 percent of election candidates sons or grandsons did not serve in the military due to illness, whereas it is normally 50 percent on average in Korea.

On March 29, according to 'A Report on the Military Experience of Candidates' written by the National Election Committee (NEC), more than 200 candidates were exempted from military service. Among the over 200 candidates, 40 percent of the candidates were ill, 28 percent exceeded the maximum age limit, and 17 percent were imprisoned.

Fifty of the candidates who exceeded the maximum age limit either lost their milirary records or said that after the physical examination they had to wait to be summoned for service and by the time were summoned they had exceeded the maximum age limit. It was revealed that more than 20 current members of the National Assembly were exempted from military service because they also exceeded maximum age limit.

It was also revealed that one candidate of the Grand National Party(GNP) had been summoned to serve his time in the military, but he avoided service two times. As time passed, he finally was exempted from military service because he was too old.

Also, many candidates' sons or grandsons did not serve in the military, with 82 percent of them exempted with the reasons being that they were sick, 8 percent exceeded the maximum age limit, and 5 percent were overweight or underweight.

In addition, more than 30 candidates' descendants were exempted from military service, due to immigration, overseas study, or an excessive waiting period.

by Lee Chul-hee