S. Korea allows conscientious objection to conscription
November 1, 2018
The country's top court has ruled that moral and religious beliefs are valid reasons to refuse military service. The decision is expected to impact hundreds of cases brought against men for not "fulfilling their duties."
Image: picture-alliance/YONHAP
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South Korea's Supreme Court said on Thursday that conscientious objection is a valid reason to refuse the country's mandatory military service.
South Korean law requires nearly every able-bodied male between the ages of 18 and 35 to complete around two years of military service. If a conscripted person refuses "without a valid reason" then he faces a jail time of up to three years.
Around 19,000 men, most of them Jehovah's Witnesses, have been jailed since 1950 for refusing the mandatory service on moral and religious grounds.
The top court's ruling overturned the conviction of a 34-year-old man surnamed Oh, a Jehovah's Witness whose initial guilty verdict was upheld at the appellate court. Oh was called to military service in 2013 but refused.
Punishing conscientious objectors "for refusing conscription on grounds of religious faith, in other words, freedom of conscience, is deemed an excessive constraint to an individual's freedom of conscience," Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su said.
The Supreme Court had in earlier cases maintained that religious beliefs or conscience were not valid reasons to refuse mandatory military service.
The ruling is expected to impact some 930 cases of alleged violations of the law pending in courts.
Changing attitude
The Supreme Court's ruling is the latest sign of a changing attitude towards conscription in the country.
In June, South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled that the current law, which does not specify alternatives to military service, does not align with the country's constitution.
Lower courts have also acquitted several conscientious objectors this year.
The Defense Ministry has already said it will gradually shorten periods of mandatory military service by 2-3 months until 2022, from 21 months to 18 months for army servicemen.
South Korea remains technically at war with North Korea as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty. It is one of the few countries that have mandatory conscription for all men.
We went out on the streets of Berlin to ask young people if they would be willing to die for their country. And if not - is there another reason for which they'd be willing to take that risk?
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Fuat, 32, from Germany
"I wouldn’t die for my country because I wouldn't say that I have a country. My parents are from Turkey and I've grown up here, so I feel like neither is my country." People from western Europe are most reluctant to fight for their country: an average of 25% say they would do so - compared to a global average of 60%. In Turkey, 73% saying they would bear arms for their nation.
Image: DW/S. Kirby
Iulia, 26, from Romania
"Not die. Maybe I'd be willing to take part in protests but that's all. The history of my country doesn't make me want something more. I don't think I could change anything even if I expressed my own opinion." Romania's population is more closely split - with just a few percentage points dividing those in favour (38%) from those against (41%), as the results of a 2014 Gallup poll show.
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James, 27, a refugee from Cameroon
"I would be prepared to die for my country. I love my country. But due to the political situation you can't fight alone. What's in your mind is not what's in your neighbour's mind, that's the problem. I want to create change but you need many people to have the same idea, ideology, to move forward. I wouldn't be violent. We need to strike and demonstrate. Violence never solves problems."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Chimtom
Anonymous, from Germany
"I am anti-war - I'm at a demonstration to oppose the war in Ukraine. I refused to join Germany's army when I was called up during the war in Kosovo." In Germany, just 18% of people would fight for their country.
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Soraya, 15, dual French-German nationality
"I’d be prepared to defend certain values but I don’t think that violence is a solution. I don’t think I would fight for my country. I don’t have one country that is my country. Also there are decisions that I don’t agree with. We are not always supported in the way we should be."
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Emily, 30, from Canada
"I don’t know whether I would be willing to die for my country. It's a huge question and I've never really thought about it. I'm Canadian, so I've never really been put in a position like that. I think war in general is silly." In Canada 30% of people say they would be willing to fight in a war for their country.
