The Supreme Court has handed down its very first decision that “conscientious objection,” the refusal of military service on the grounds of conscience or religious belief, cannot be regarded as an object of punishment. This action overturns the judicial precedent that has stood for the past 14 years, ever since the 2004 Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that refusal of military duty was a crime.
On November 1 at the Supreme Court’s full-bench final hearing for Mr. Oh (34), a Jehovah’s Witnesses believer prosecuted for violation of the Military Service Act and sentenced to one and a half years’ imprisonment at his first and second trials, the Court rejected the original verdict, acquitted Mr. Oh and sent the case back to the Changwon Court. The Court ruled that refusal of military service on religious grounds is a “justifiable cause” falling within the category of exceptions to punishment under military law. Last June when the Constitutional Court handed down its opinion that conscientious objection to military duty must be recognized, at the same time it found the legal provision for punishment “constitutional”; now the Supreme Court has issued the first-time decision that “punishment, too, is prohibited.”
The Supreme Court directed attention to the point that conscientious objectors are not rejecting the constitutional duty of national defense itself. The Court said, “If we do not allow even the most passive form of conscientious objection, the refusal to bear weapons or take part in military training, then the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of conscience is meaningless.”
Worry has been expressed in religious circles. Christian Council of Korea (CCK) Executive Director Rev. Eom Gi-ho said, “To the extent that 99% of conscientious objectors are Jehovah’s Witnesses, this judgment will inevitably look like preferential treatment of a specific religious group… To put religion first and say we’ll forget all about the duty of national defense is a serious problem directly connected with the existence of the nation.”
As of the 31st of October, 227 cases of military service refusal on religious or conscientious grounds are awaiting the top court’s decision.
Reporters An Dae-yong, Choi Ye-seul, & Sangmok Shin (mymin@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)
Photo by reporter Gwon Hyeon-gu
Full Story in Korean:
거센 형평성 논란에도… 大法, 판례 14년 만에 뒤집었다: 대법관 4명은 강한 반대 의견
Related Articl ein Korean:
“심사할 수 없는 양심의 범위 지나치게 확대”: 대법원 ‘종교적 이유 병역거부’ 무죄 취지 결정에 논란 확산
