Due to a Military Manpower Administration error, four supplementary service members enlisted as active duty... One has already been discharged

"Dedicated health doctors do not properly check BMI"

It was recently revealed that four individuals who were supposed to be supplementary service members were mistakenly enlisted as active-duty soldiers due to an error by the Military Manpower Administration. Among them, one person has already been discharged after completing their service.

According to the Military Manpower Administration on the 10th, from 2016 until April of this year, four young men who should have been classified as Grade 4 supplementary service due to errors in the military physical examination (physical test) were enlisted as active-duty soldiers.

These four individuals had a body mass index (BMI, calculated by dividing weight by the square of height) of 35.0 or higher during their pre-enlistment physical examination, which qualified them for supplementary service. However, the Military Manpower Administration failed to properly verify this, resulting in their enlistment as active-duty soldiers.

According to the "Military Physical Examination and Other Testing Regulations" implemented by the Ministry of National Defense since February 2021, the BMI criteria for Grade 4 supplementary service is "below 16 or 35 and above." However, it is reported that the public health doctors responsible for determining physical grades at the Military Manpower Administration only reviewed disease documents and did not properly check the BMI.

A total of four such cases have been confirmed, and a full investigation is currently underway. Among them, one has completed active duty and been discharged, one is currently serving as an active-duty soldier, one was sent home immediately after enlistment, and one is awaiting active-duty enlistment.

The Army Recruit Training Center became suspicious when they found no appropriately sized uniforms for the new recruits in May and confirmed the Military Manpower Administration's error during inquiries.

The Military Manpower Administration explained, "We have explained and apologized to the individuals affected and their parents regarding the erroneous classification," adding, "We also provided guidance on necessary follow-up measures."

Accordingly, one person awaiting active-duty enlistment and one person sent home immediately after enlistment among the four have had their classification corrected to supplementary service. The individual who has completed active duty will continue to be managed as a reservist, and the one currently serving active duty has expressed a desire to continue service, so their active-duty classification will be maintained.

The Military Manpower Administration has conducted training for dedicated physicians and staff involved in military classification and has reinforced its computer systems to prevent recurrence of such errors.

The Military Manpower Administration stated, "We will regularly review the examination procedures to ensure no further erroneous classifications occur and to prevent any inconvenience in fulfilling military service," and added, "We sincerely apologize once again to the conscripts and their families who experienced inconvenience and harm due to the erroneous classification."

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