A soldier in his 20s, just two months away from discharge, was sentenced to two years of probation for forging a leave request form in order to obtain special leave.

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 8 (Presiding Judge Lee Se-chang) sentenced Mr. A (26) to eight months in prison with a two-year probation for forgery of official documents, fabrication of electronic records, obstruction of official duties through deceit, and unauthorized absence.

Mr. A, who was a sergeant in the Information and Communications System Division, was found to have forged a leave application form three times over the course of a month starting in March of last year, using a Hangul program installed on the duty soldier's computer.

As a serious violation of military discipline involving document forgery during military service, Mr. A could not avoid criminal punishment.

Forgery Method and Court's Judgment

Mr. A arbitrarily entered the duration of leave and favorable scores on the forged leave request form and used a meticulous method of scanning the stamp of Sergeant B, who had the authority to approve leave, and attaching it to the document.

Through this method, it was investigated that Mr. A had taken special leave three times just two months before his discharge.

The court stated, "This crime seriously undermines military discipline and requires strict punishment. Considering the method of the crime, the number of forged and used official documents, it cannot be said that the culpability is light."

However, at the same time, it explained the reasons for the sentencing by stating, "Taking into account that he acknowledges his crime and shows remorse, and that this is his first offense," it decided on a probationary sentence.

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