Military Service Evasion Broker Commits Fraud Against 6·25 War POW Families Association... Self-Appoints as Vice President by Forging Seal

Appointment certificate received by Gu Mo, a military service broker, upon being appointed as the Vice Representative Director of the Korean War POW Families Association [Photo by Gu's blog]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] It has been confirmed that broker Gu, who was arrested and indicted for assisting multiple prominent individuals, including male professional volleyball player Jo Jae-seong (27, OK Financial Group), in evading military service, also committed fraud against the Korean War POW Families Association.

On the 4th, based on reports and investigations from the families' association and legal circles, Gu was recently dismissed from his position as vice representative director of the families' association by the Seoul Central District Court. The association decided to remove Gu from the vice representative director position in June 2021 and recently received a court ruling affirming the legitimacy of this decision after following proper legal procedures.

According to a representative of the families' association, Gu deceived the executives and forged seals to be appointed as the vice representative director on March 30, 2021. When Gu first met the association's directors, he promised, "I will ensure you receive the Mugunghwa Medal in three months," and said, "For that, I need the seal," which he obtained and stamped on the official document at the board meeting that decided his appointment. As a result, Gu was approved to act as vice representative director with the votes of 7 out of 10 directors, a majority. However, by June of that year, the association did not receive the Mugunghwa Medal as promised, and evidence of seal forgery and document falsification was uncovered, leading to Gu's immediate dismissal by the board. A representative of the association told this publication, "There are about 100 families whose fathers were Korean War POWs but did not receive medals, and Gu exploited their feelings," adding, "Most members are elderly and many are defectors, so even though they knew about Gu's fraudulent acts, they could not properly file complaints or lawsuits."

Document of the board resolution appointing Gu Mo, a military service broker, as the vice representative director of the Korean War POW Families Association
[Photo by Gu's blog]

The prosecution is investigating those who evaded military service with Gu's assistance as well as accomplice brokers. Gu was arrested and indicted on December 21 last year on charges of violating the Military Service Act. According to the prosecution's investigation, Gu operated an administrative office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, that resolved military service issues, charging clients tens of millions of won per case, and helped them obtain exemptions from military service for various reasons such as epilepsy and other chronic illnesses, deferrals of enlistment, and financial hardship. Male professional volleyball player Jo Jae-seong admitted that he obtained a false epilepsy diagnosis through Gu and was classified as a level 4 social service agent. He is scheduled to appear before the prosecution for questioning on the 5th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.