A South Korean court has found a man guilty of trying to avoid mandatory military service by deliberately gaining weight, local media report.
The 26-year-old began eating excessively before his physical exam for the draft, a judge in the capital Seoul said. He was classified as obese, which allowed him to serve in a non-combat role in a government agency.
The defendant was sentenced to one year in prison. A friend who developed a special diet to double his daily food intake was given a six-month suspended prison sentence, reports the Korea Herald newspaper.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men over the age of 18 must serve in the military for at least 18 months.
According to the Korean Herald, the accused was found fit to fight during an initial physical examination.
But at last year's final exam he weighed more than 102kg (225lbs, 16 stone), making him severely obese.
The man who recommended the excessive diet had denied the accusation of complicity, saying he never believed his friend would recover, the newspaper added.
