Top court upholds conviction of man who faked depression for lighter military duty assignment
Published: 26 Nov. 2025, 10:06
![The Supreme Court building is seen in southern Seoul on Oct. 20. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/26/6876f6bc-b466-4e16-b45e-54639ace04c0.jpg)
The Supreme Court building is seen in southern Seoul on Oct. 20. [YONHAP]
The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a man who faked symptoms of depression to lower his military service grade and receive a lighter duty assignment.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday finalized a one-year prison sentence on a two-year suspension for the man, surnamed Jeon, who was indicted for violating the Military Service Act.
Jeon was accused of pretending to suffer from a mental illness in order to either avoid or reduce his mandatory military duty, ultimately receiving a Grade 4 designation, which made him eligible to serve as a public service worker rather than an active-duty soldier.
In his first military service physical examination in November 2019, Jeon claimed he had suicidal thoughts after taking the College Scholastic Ability Test, which resulted in him being categorized as Grade 7, requiring a reexamination.
In June 2020, during a psychiatric consultation, Jeon told a doctor that he struggled to leave the house and often had thoughts like, “What’s the point of living like this?” when alone at night.
Based on these claims, the doctor issued a diagnostic letter for the Military Manpower Administration stating that Jeon required continued treatment and monitoring for depression and social anxiety disorder, which Jeon submitted to the Daegu-North Gyeongsang regional branch of the administration.
After being categorized as Grade 7 again for failing to show consistent medication use, Jeon returned to the hospital and insisted he had been taking the medication regularly but felt no improvement. Another diagnosis of depression and social anxiety disorder was issued, and Jeon was eventually classified as Grade 4 and assigned to public service duty.
However, authorities found that Jeon had no prior history of mental illness or use of psychiatric medication before the examinations. Investigators also determined he led a normal social life in college, joining clubs and working part-time jobs.
The district court ruled him guilty, sentencing him to one year in prison with two years of suspension and 80 hours of community service.
“The defendant used deception by exaggerating or fabricating his symptoms and falsely claiming to be adhering to medication in order to reduce his military service obligations,” the court said. “Given the content, method and circumstances of the offense, the nature of the crime is serious.”
Jeon appealed the ruling, but both the appellate court and the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal, concluding that the original verdict was valid.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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