Battle royale fan sentenced to 18 months in jail for dodging military service after Supreme Court rejects claim he's 'anti-violence' because of his PUBG playtime

(Image credit: Krafton)

A South Korean man has been jailed for 18 months after the country's Supreme Court dismissed his attempt to dodge mandatory military service on ethical grounds because of his affinity for PUBG.

According to The Korea Herald, the unnamed defendant was indicted in November 2018 for violating the country's Military Service Act. With a few notable exceptions for cultural icons, medal-winning sportspeople, and more recently League of Legends superstar Faker, all able-bodied South Korean men must complete 18 months of military service, but the defendant conscientiously objected to the draft, claiming anti-violence sentiments on ethical grounds.

That defence isn't unheard of, and certain religious groups are often exempted from service. However, in this case, the court noted that the defendant had never volunteered for any anti-war charities or protests. Perhaps more damningly, however, the court also pointed out that "the defendant admitted that he frequently enjoyed playing the game [PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds].

Despite acknowledging that PUBG takes place "in a virtual reality," the cut-throat nature and gun-related violence of the hit battle royale game was seen by the court to somewhat undermine the defendant's claim that they would be objecting on moral grounds: "The fact that the defendant [...] enjoys such [a] game makes the court question whether his conscientious objection is authentic."

In 2024, going to prison over PUBG does seem like a particularly unfortunate fate, but it's worth remembering that the game's peak came during the summer of 2017, and it was still one of the most-played games on Steam throughout 2018. Perhaps, however, if the defendant had been a Fortnite fan, that game's more child-friendly aesthetic might have helped his defence a little more.

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.