Real-Life 'D.P.': Two Idols Convicted Of Evading Military Service; Sentenced To Probation And Prison

Two famous South Korean rappers have been convicted after being proven guilty of evading mandatory military service in the country.

On Thursday, the 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court sentenced former VIXX member Ravi — real name Kim Won-sik — to one year in prison, two years of probation and 120 hours of community service. The 30-year-old, however, would not be spending time in jail unless he violates his 2-year probation, per Spot TV News.

Meanwhile, "Show Me The Money 777" champion Nafla was sentenced to one year in prison. Both rappers got charged with violating South Korea's Military Service Act.

Speaking on Ravi's sentence, the court said, "The crime [committed was] very bad because the defendant conspired with Koo, a military service broker, to pretend that he had no serious epilepsy and used tricks to obstruct the execution of official duties."

The court added that because he was a first-time offender and had no other history of punishment, he was to fulfill his military service obligations again if convicted of the said crime.

Ravi was accused of working with a broker who was recently caught manipulating medical records to help young men evade their mandatory military service. Earlier this year, he served as a social service agent instead of an active duty solider in the military.

As for the 31-year-old rapper, whose real name is Choi Seok-bae, he was recently investigated for allegedly receiving unfair privileges from the Seocho District Office in Seoul while he served as a public service worker. Such privilege included "draft-dodging" in which he was excused for being absent from work.

After the investigation, the court discovered that Nafla violated several acts, such as acting as a social worker longer than permitted to receive a grade 5 judgment and sending threatening text messages to the person in charge at his assigned office. At the time, the crime was committed while the rapper was under investigation for an alleged drug case.

But because Nafla spent more than five months in detention, reflected on his mistakes and was diagnosed with level 4 depression, the court decided to reduce his sentence to one year. Prosecutors previously suggested that he be imprisoned for two and a half years.

Following the charges, Ravi released an apology for his "foolish and cowardly" acts and confessed that he was "eager" to postpone his military service. After reflecting, he realized he made a huge mistake and hurt many people, especially epileptic patients and their families.

Nafla, on his part, also showed regret and said that if given another chance, he would faithfully fulfill his military obligations as a Korean citizen.