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
Feb. 5, 2024Anti-violent sentiments don’t line up with violent games, apparently
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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.
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 hitbattle royale gamewas 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.”
Maybe they should have had an eye on theseupcoming cozy gamesinstead?
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I’m GamesRadar’s news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. 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.
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