Doctors at Severance Hospital on Wednesday confirmed that the son of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has a herniated disc, justifying his exemption from military service.

The announcement cleared 27-year-old Park Ju-sin of a month of allegations that he fabricated medical records to dodge military service.

“Based on the magnetic resonance imaging we have conducted, we have concluded that Park Ju-sin’s fourth disc has been herniated,” said Dr. Yoon Do-heum of the hospital.

The junior Park had the MRI at the hospital around 2 p.m. with a pool of reporters watching nearby.

Park Ju-sin joined the Air Force last August but was sent home four days later when he suffered extreme pain in his thighs.

After his father won the Oct. 26 mayoral by-elections, he submitted the MRI results he got from a local hospital to the Military Manpower Administration, which conducted a second checkup with a CT scan and confirmed the diagnosis of a herniated disc. He was exempt from the military and sent to perform an alternative service at a public organization. 

Park has been under media scrutiny as independent lawmaker Kang Yong-seok disclosed an MRI film on his blog in January claiming it to be what Park submitted to the MMA. The image, however, seemed to be that of an overweight person with a physique far different than that of Ju-sin’s, fueling suspicions that Park deliberately submitted another person’s image to dodge the draft.

But Yoon said the MRI imaging taken from his hospital matched the one posted on Park’s blog. “Symptoms differ from person to person. But we are sure that both films are of the same person,” he said.

Kang offered to resign Wednesday from his parliamentary seat, taking full responsibility. He had previously vowed to resign if the authenticity of the film was confirmed.

“I raised the suspicion because I thought there was evidence. I would like to apologize to the people who have suffered during the mayhem,” he said.

But this may not be the only consequence of his actions, as the mayor has threatened to file a lawsuit against those who started the allegations.

”It is time Kang reveals how he had obtained the MRI films, which is a medical record subject to confidentiality,“ Park said through an Seoul Metropolitan Government official.

The junior Park said he had been tormented by the media frenzy and accusations that he had committed fraud. Military draft-dodging is considered extremely serious here, as all men are subject to conscription.

“Reporters are everywhere outside the house. I cannot go anywhere and meet anyone nor return home. My privacy has been disclosed to the public and people are even involving my girlfriend,” he appealed to the media through a city official.

By Bae Ji-sook  (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)