Post by Holyjoe on Sept 5, 2004 21:16:20 GMT -5
Some football players involved in this too, but it doesn't give any names...
Pro-Baseball Players Held for Draft Dodging
2 Brokers Allegedly Take W4.2 Bil. From 80 Since 2000
times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200409/kt2004090516122510510.htm
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Police have arrested 10 former and acting baseball players and two brokers in a large-scale draft-dodging case involving more than 80 people, including some 50 professional baseball players, several entertainers and football players.
Sunday, police said they have seized a list of 80 people who contacted or gave money to the two brokers, identified as Woo, 38, and Kim, 29, to avoid conscription.
Since 2000, Woo and Kim took a combined total of 4.2 billion won in illegal commission from their clients and many baseball players were actually exempted from the compulsory service, according to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
The 10 people in police custody include five acting players from the LG Twins, one from the Samsung Lions and one from the Lotte Giants. A 28-year-old baseball coach of a high school team and two former amateur players were also arrested. Police said the suspects each gave 3.8-4.5 million won to the brokers to learn how to avoid conscription by manipulating urine tests.
Police said the players secretly put some medicine and blood into their urine to make them look like patients with diseases related to their kidneys, which is a condition for draft exemption. The urine tests were conducted at the presence of conscription officials, but they failed to detect the scheme, according to investigators.
The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said in a statement it is conducting its own investigation into the matter. The MMA, which manages the conscription of soldiers and related tests, said it is carefully reviewing records related to patients who reported they have kidney-related diseases.
Police said they have found that several entertainers and soccer players, whose identities have been withheld, had adopted similar methods to dodge the draft.
It is not still clear whether the professional teams knew their players adopted illegal methods to dodge military service. LG Twins officials said they will soon announce its stance on the matter.
An initial investigation showed that more LG Twins players gave money to the brokers. Police said more than 50 baseball players are under investigation, and that they will expand its investigation to other teams.
Draft-dodging is a deep-rooted social problem in South Korea, which maintains a strict mandatory military service to confront communist North Korea. Baseball players may be exempted from military service if they win a gold medal in the Asian Games or the Olympics, or they should serve in the military for 18-24 months like other ordinary young South Koreans.
During the past crackdowns in 1998-99 and 2000-01, police jailed or fined some 500 people for violating the military service law by adopting unlawful methods to dodge conscription. In most cases, brokers who had connections with officials of the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) helped athletes, entertainers and sons of rich families dodge the draft by taking bribes from them or their parents. Several MMA officials are still behind bars after being convicted of bribery charges.
Police suspect MMA officials are also involved in the baseball players' cases.
2 Brokers Allegedly Take W4.2 Bil. From 80 Since 2000
times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200409/kt2004090516122510510.htm
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Police have arrested 10 former and acting baseball players and two brokers in a large-scale draft-dodging case involving more than 80 people, including some 50 professional baseball players, several entertainers and football players.
Sunday, police said they have seized a list of 80 people who contacted or gave money to the two brokers, identified as Woo, 38, and Kim, 29, to avoid conscription.
Since 2000, Woo and Kim took a combined total of 4.2 billion won in illegal commission from their clients and many baseball players were actually exempted from the compulsory service, according to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
The 10 people in police custody include five acting players from the LG Twins, one from the Samsung Lions and one from the Lotte Giants. A 28-year-old baseball coach of a high school team and two former amateur players were also arrested. Police said the suspects each gave 3.8-4.5 million won to the brokers to learn how to avoid conscription by manipulating urine tests.
Police said the players secretly put some medicine and blood into their urine to make them look like patients with diseases related to their kidneys, which is a condition for draft exemption. The urine tests were conducted at the presence of conscription officials, but they failed to detect the scheme, according to investigators.
The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said in a statement it is conducting its own investigation into the matter. The MMA, which manages the conscription of soldiers and related tests, said it is carefully reviewing records related to patients who reported they have kidney-related diseases.
Police said they have found that several entertainers and soccer players, whose identities have been withheld, had adopted similar methods to dodge the draft.
It is not still clear whether the professional teams knew their players adopted illegal methods to dodge military service. LG Twins officials said they will soon announce its stance on the matter.
An initial investigation showed that more LG Twins players gave money to the brokers. Police said more than 50 baseball players are under investigation, and that they will expand its investigation to other teams.
Draft-dodging is a deep-rooted social problem in South Korea, which maintains a strict mandatory military service to confront communist North Korea. Baseball players may be exempted from military service if they win a gold medal in the Asian Games or the Olympics, or they should serve in the military for 18-24 months like other ordinary young South Koreans.
During the past crackdowns in 1998-99 and 2000-01, police jailed or fined some 500 people for violating the military service law by adopting unlawful methods to dodge conscription. In most cases, brokers who had connections with officials of the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) helped athletes, entertainers and sons of rich families dodge the draft by taking bribes from them or their parents. Several MMA officials are still behind bars after being convicted of bribery charges.
Police suspect MMA officials are also involved in the baseball players' cases.
