Volleyball player Cho Jae-sung, 28, who was accused of illegally evading military service with a false medical certificate, has been sentenced to probation.

Judge Kim Yoon-hee of the Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Division 9 sentenced Cho to one year in prison and two years of probation on March 24 for violating the Military Service Act.

“Considering that he is a first-time offender and confessed to the crime to the investigating agency, and that he was about to enlist in the military on the 25th after receiving a notice from the Gyeonggi Provincial Defense and Security Agency’s social service personnel,” Judge Kim said.

Cho is currently a member of OK Financial Group, but his contract runs until June 30, and the club said, “It is virtually impossible for him to continue his career in Korea, and there has been no contact with him since he left his accommodation after self-reporting,” so it is almost a complete release.

The allegations first came to light on Dec. 27, when Cho voluntarily reported to the club for an agency investigation into military service irregularities. According to prosecutors, Cho and about 42 others, including singer Ravi (real name Kim Won-sik), professional athletes and entertainers, received advice from illegal military service broker Gu Mo (indicted) and submitted false medical certificates claiming to be suffering from epilepsy.

In October 2014, Mr. Cho was classified as Class 1 active duty in his first military service determination examination, but in May 2018, he underwent another physical examination for a dermatological condition and was classified as Class 3 active duty.

Mr. Cho and other clients were found to have called 911 complaining of epileptic seizures, were taken to emergency rooms and treated at hospitals, and created false records of having epilepsy over a period of one to two years. Epilepsy can be diagnosed by persistent complaints of clinical symptoms, such as seizures, even if there are no abnormalities on an EEG. Military service evaders exploited this to get their military service reduced or downgraded.

Despite having no symptoms of epilepsy, Mr. Cho complained of seizures and was retested in April 2021 and found to be Class 7. He has since been prescribed medication for his epilepsy, and in February last year, he was classified as a supplementary class 4.

On December 21, the investigative agency notified Cho that he would be investigated as a suspect. On December 28, Cho posted a lengthy apology on his social media (SNS) account and admitted to participating in military service fraud. 스포츠토토

The Korean Volleyball Organization (KOVO), which monitored Cho’s situation at the time, was quoted as saying, “(If Cho’s sentence is confirmed), we will hold a punishment committee to discuss the outcome as there is currently no regulation for military service violations, and we are keeping an eye on this aspect as the player has little chance of appealing and has admitted his guilt.”