Nafla asked for leniency after prosecution demanded imprisonment for his military service evasion, “Korean culture was unfamiliar to me”
Rapper Nafla, who was accused of military service evasion, tearfully apologized.
On April 11th, the first trial for Ravi, Nafla, and others, who were indicted on charges of violating the Military Service Act, was held by the Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Division 7.
A total of 9 people, including Ravi and Nafla, attended the trial as defendants.
At the trial, the prosecution demanded an imprisonment sentence of 2 years and 6 months for Nafla. Releasing his final statement, Nafla said, “I am a dual citizen of the United States and South Korea” and began to choke up.
Explaining his background, Nafla, who was born in Los Angeles, the U.S., said, “I wanted to achieve success with music so I came to Korea. I have been so familiar with American culture since I was young, so Korean culture was all unfamiliar and new to me. I started from the bottom in Korea, and in the underground world then got recognized after appearing on Mnet’s ‘Show Me the Money’.”
He continued, “I worked hard to gain popularity and it was very precious to me. However, I always thought about enlisting in the military. Soon later, I received the military enlistment notice and couldn’t delay the schedule.”
Nafla honestly confessed that he was afraid of his popularity disappearing if he suddenly enlisted and suspended activities. He also revealed his worries about serving in the military because he was not familiar with Korean culture.
The rapper said he met a broker during the time he was having various complicated emotions and made a foolish decision.
Nafla said, “Now I realize how serious my mistake was. I am sorry to the people who are sincerely fulfilling their military service, to all the fans, and to people who suffer from depression. I also realize how much I have disappointed my family members who are living in a distant country.”
Earlier, Nafla, who was called up as a social service worker and is serving in the military, was accused of conspiring with broker Goo to get a false depression diagnosis and receive a beneficial grade in the military service health examination.
Meanwhile, according to the prosecution’s indictment, Ravi also received an “epilepsy diagnosis scenario” from Goo, and then pretended to faint and undergo hospital examinations. Afterwards, he submitted a medical certificate with an epilepsy diagnosis to the Military Manpower Administration. During the investigation, it was revealed that Goo sent Ravi a message, saying “Good, you get a military service exemption”.
On the same day, the prosecution also demanded a sentence of two years in prison for Ravi.
Source: Insight
