Male idol diagnosed with intellectual disability to avoid active-duty military service “Suspended sentence”

According to legal circles on January 17th, the Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 3 (Judge In Hyung-jun) sentenced Ahn (32), who was prosecuted for violating the Military Service Act, to one year in prison suspended for two years and ordered 80 hours of community service.

Ahn received a physical grade of 1 in July 2011 and received a grade 2 for active-duty military service eligibility in November 2017. However, he complained of false symptoms, such as psychological problems and cognitive function disorders, and received a 4th-grade public service worker summons in 2020 based on a hospital diagnosis.

Ahn, despite having no special psychological problems for 7 months from October 2019, claimed during a medical examination, “I feel very difficult in my mind, even thinking of death. My heart beats fast for no reason, and I can’t breathe well, and I feel anxious.”

In May 2020, he submitted a diagnosis to the Military Manpower Administration, stating that he had a “mild intellectual disability” with exaggerated or distorted answers in a comprehensive psychological test, and that more than a year of psychiatric observation and drug therapy was needed.

The court judged that Ahn “made up his mind to evade military service by pretending to have a mental disability, as if he had a problem with intellectual ability, even though there were no special psychological problems“.

However, the court considered the fact that Ahn admitted his wrongdoing, is a first-time offender, and pledged to fulfill his military duty.

Meanwhile, Ahn is a member and leader of a male group that debuted in 2018.

Source: Daum