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Cabal of 12 Korean students conspired to gain weight & dodge military service
RT ^ | September 13, 2018

Posted on 10/24/2018 6:44:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Military investigators in South Korea identified a group of 12 students in a Seoul university, who made a coordinated effort to gain weight to become ineligible for mandatory military service. Those involved could face jail time.

South Korea has some of the strictest rules about mandatory service. Every young man has to complete his service, with exemptions given to very few, such as people with debilitating conditions or Olympic medalists. For example, being a K-pop idol would not spare one from undertaking military service, so fans of bands such as BTS compile lengthy charts to track when this or that singer would be able to hang up his uniform and get back on stage.

There are also those who are found ineligible for active duty but still healthy enough to serve in the less-demanding alternative civil service, working low-paid jobs at tube stations, parking lots or government offices. There are several ways to fit into that category (including getting a tattoo big enough to be considered inappropriate) but gaining extra weight is most popular.

The 12 accused draft dodgers are all classical music vocalists, who received majors from the same university. They apparently thought they would have more time to practice if they stayed away from the barracks and shared tips on how to better achieve their goals in a group chat. This online trail allowed the Military Manpower Administration to identify them.

According to the military officials, two of the 12 singers have already completed their alternative service programs, four others are in the process and six more are awaiting their assignments. Their cases would be referred to court, which may order all of them to enlist in regular active duty, including the two, who already served their terms.

Dodging the draft is a serious offense in South Korea, with a jail term of up to five years allowed by law. Earlier this year a 21-year-old man was sentenced to a suspended one-year term for gaining an extra 30kg in 2016 to avoid the service. The Military Manpower Administration statistic says they identified 59 men, who used fraudulent ways to stay out of boot camp in 2017, compared to 54 in 2016 and 47 in 2015. Over a third of them used various methods of weight control, while about one in five went along with tattooing.

(TWEET-AT-LINK)

Admittedly, the Korean military have decided to make the conscription less taxing for citizens lately. This summer they agreed to slash the time of mandatory service by three months to 18 months for the Army and the Marine Corps and 20 months for the Navy. For the Air Force the reduction was smaller by a month to a total of 22 months.

“We are helping the drafted soldiers to focus on combat duties by minimizing their non-combat related duties. Any work that requires mastery will be carried out by non-commissioned officers,” the Defense Ministry said at the time.

The Koreans currently serving saw their terms slashed proportionately to their remaining time, which messed up all those K-pop fans charts. But they probably don’t mind it.

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TOPICS: Food; Government; Military/Veterans; Politics
KEYWORDS: conscription; draft; korea; military
I kind of wish they'd bring that back here so all of society participates in the defense of our country.
1 posted on 10/24/2018 6:44:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I served in the US Army,I liked that we were all volunteers and not “volunteered”.Not that I have anything against you making this suggestion.

It just felt better to know the whole unit wanted to be here.


2 posted on 10/24/2018 6:46:58 PM PDT by Del Rapier
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To: Del Rapier

I, of course, also served in the US Army, although some people here think the 2nd Division represents the 2nd Marine Division, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just don’t think we should hire a certain segment of society to protect us. It should be spread out a bit more so that most men have a shared experience and background, something that seems to help South Korea.


3 posted on 10/24/2018 6:54:35 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Pork Chop Platoon


4 posted on 10/24/2018 7:00:00 PM PDT by real saxophonist (One side has guns and training. Other side's primary concern is 'gender identity'. Who's gonna win?)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Is that even numerically possible 2 million in the military plus reserves and 25 million men 18-29.

Required service is how you get Obama’s civilian corp where most would get utter progressive brain rot.


5 posted on 10/24/2018 7:02:09 PM PDT by Valpal1
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I knew a guy in 1968-1969 that LOST weight so that he would not get drafted. He looked like sticks, but was under the minimum weight that they would take him. He had to keep it off for years, too. The Army would call him in at odd times several times a year to weigh him. That takes more will power than I have.


6 posted on 10/24/2018 7:04:09 PM PDT by jim_trent
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To: Valpal1

Have you looked around at the Millennials lately? Most of them would never pass a military physical or psychological exam. Now that there are going to be six branches of the armed forces a draft would be viable.


7 posted on 10/24/2018 7:06:33 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Way back in my Drum Corps days, a guy decided it would be a good idea to gain a bunch of weight before we went on tour.

He'd lose it, he thought.

End of the tour, he was still a big ol' fatass.

8 posted on 10/24/2018 7:07:43 PM PDT by real saxophonist (One side has guns and training. Other side's primary concern is 'gender identity'. Who's gonna win?)
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To: jim_trent
One of my wife's friends was handed amphetamines to lose the weight. As if!
9 posted on 10/24/2018 7:08:19 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Exactly my point, you will have 20 million unfit for military service shunted off into some form of civil service where they will be brainwashed with progressive crap.

We don’t need mandatory service because our population is big enough to recruit sufficient volunteers. And we don’t have a hereditary nutjob controlling Canada.

ROK has a 600K army and a 5 million man reserve as a deterrent to the Kim regime.


10 posted on 10/24/2018 7:13:22 PM PDT by Valpal1
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To: Valpal1

We have millions of invaders from the opposite direction, Mexico.


11 posted on 10/24/2018 7:16:11 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The Chub Club?


12 posted on 10/24/2018 7:29:33 PM PDT by El Cid (Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house...)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
"And I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I have notified your local draft boards and told them that you are now all, all eligible for military service."
13 posted on 10/24/2018 7:38:49 PM PDT by Ken H (Best election ever!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

That’s horrible. ROK army training isn’t rough enough to go that far to avoid it. They take good care of their soldiers. Being fat is no fun. It’s uncomfortable and debilitating.


14 posted on 10/24/2018 8:12:30 PM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I agree. Make men out of American boys. It would improve our nation in many ways again. If we can’t afford to keep them for a couple of years, give ‘em at least three months of OSUT training after they reach 18 or graduate high school (eight weeks basic phase one and 5 weeks more infantry or engineer training to finish them up), and they can go where they wish from there. Make it rough enough to change them.


15 posted on 10/24/2018 8:19:17 PM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Reminds me of the late ‘60’s in High School....some were caught in the draft and notified during their senior year, were also told they needed to lose some weight to pass the physical....remember one guy who always had 3 lunch trays in front of him in the cafeteria....


16 posted on 10/25/2018 3:18:33 AM PDT by trebb (Those who don't donate anything tend to be empty gasbags...no-value-added types)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

How do you conspire to gain weight?


17 posted on 10/25/2018 5:41:36 AM PDT by CoastWatcher
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

When the space aliens invade, they will eat the fat ones first.


18 posted on 10/25/2018 5:44:51 AM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“I kind of wish they’d bring that back here so all of society participates in the defense of our country.”

The draft motivated the left that helped get the 60’s cultural revolution off to a fast start. The protests, the MSM telling half truths and outright lies about the Vietnam war. Communism was an outside threat that required our troops to stay there. We pulled out. The South lost.

Our current sandbox wars are no different than Vietnam with respect to the need to defeat larger outside threats which would be Islam. If we pull out of the sandbox countries, we lose. We are spending our own men and women’s lives and billions of dollars on these wars and no one really cares.

Bring the draft back, and the left will go apeshit. Suddenly everyone will care about our current wars. Leftism has been fine tuned since Vietnam. The protests will be more violent and the MSM will really crank up the non-facts machine.

I agree with you, we should all participate. But the draft will wreck our country.


19 posted on 10/25/2018 5:51:27 AM PDT by redfreedom (ue)
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