[EDITORIALS]Deal with draft dodging

More and more cases of draft dodging have been revealed recently. More than 100 professional baseball players are reportedly included among the alleged draft dodgers. Investigations have been expanded to include celebrities and less-well-known people.
We are very surprised to learn the new methods employed to evade military service that have been revealed. Some people allegedly injected chemical substances even before they were summoned for physical tests, trying to portray themselves as having kidney complications. Draft dodging methods have become extremely professional and clever. Many young people will despair after seeing so many popular stars, such as athletes and pop icons, avoiding military service.
But the new revelations raised more suspicions. Dozens of people from the same profession dodged the draft using the same excuse of a kidney problem for many years, but no one has been caught until now. The cases may have been led by more than the two brokers identified so far. The police must thoroughly investigate whether employees of hospitals and the Military Manpower Administration are involved in the scam.
It is unconvincing that the examiners failed to detect the chemicals from the urine samples. If the physical examinations have been this poor, the military administration has clearly failed to do its job.
As we have seen, attempts to dodge the draft at all costs are unlikely to be rooted out from society. More and more new methods will appear. The military administration must come up with special measures to reinforce its poor examinations.
The administration said it would give sterner punishments to draft dodgers and monitor those exempted from the service for six months before making final decisions. But that’s not enough. A systematic and stern monitoring system must be built to make sure that no one will dare to dodge military service.
We understand that serving in the military can be a serious problem for a pro sports player or a celebrity. Because the age to serve in the military coincides with the peak of their career, they cannot say no to the temptation to dodge the draft. But, we cannot allow them to skip military service to make money. It is time to think about providing a creative and considerate way to allow them to contribute to society by using their professions and talents.