SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a law revision to demand re-examination for those suspected of trying to evade military duty by feigning illnesses or mental disability.

   In South Korea, a country technically still in a state of war with North Korea, all able-bodied men must complete 21 months of military duty. Whether they or their sons have fulfilled the obligations figure heavily in judging the ethics of government and high-profile figures.

   Some draftees, including entertainers and professional athletes, have been caught for receiving unnecessary surgery or forging the results of medical examinations to get exempted from the draft.

   The revision also allows a soldier whose wife gives birth while he in service to fulfill his military duty as non-active reservist, officials said.

   Another law revision permits the government to hire part-time civil servants to fill temporary vacancies from maternity and other types of leave.

   sshim@yna.co.kr
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