On November 1, the Supreme Court ruled that it would be justified to refuse military service based on conscience and religious belief. Supreme Court Justices voted 9 to 4 to accept conscientious objection as a legitimate reason not to perform military service. This ruling is expected to affect the cases of many conscientious objectors presently on trial. Many young South Korean men, mostly Jehovah's Witnesses, are imprisoned every year for refusing to serve in the military.
Article 88 of the current Military Service Act stipulates that a person who receives a notice for military service and does not reply within three days from the date of notification will be punished with imprisonment for not more than three years. Most of them were sentenced to one year and six months' imprisonment even if they were conscientious objectors. If you serve one year and six months, you are exempted from military service, but you can't take some qualification tests for five years after serving the prison term. Which means the young men are at a great disadvantage fitting into society.
The reason for the not guilty verdict of the Supreme Court for conscientious objectors was that in "Forcing military duty ... with criminal punishment or other punitive measures is excessive restraint of freedom of conscience." The majority opinion reads: "Free democracy can have its legitimacy when it tolerates and embraces minorities though it is run by the principle of majority rule."
About 20,000 people have been subject to criminal punishment for conscientious objection since 1950 when a conscription system was imposed to oblige all men to military service. However, with the Supreme Court ruling, all those on trial for conscientious objection to military service will be found not guilty. It is hoped that the president will give a special amnesty to the prisoners currently in prison and alternative service to those facing trial.
On June 28, the Constitutional Court ruled that Article 5 of the Military Service Law, needs to change. The Court ordered the government of South Korea to rewrite the law to include an alternative service option by the end of 2019. Alternative types of service they may implement could include hospital work and other non-military social services that contribute to the betterment of the community.
Professor Park of the Catholic University of Korea commented on the Supreme Court's decision. The Second Vatican Council and the Catholic social doctrine states that a person because of human dignity has a right to refuse to do something that is contrary to their conscience. "It is a universal right given to human beings to refuse the 'killing training' they receive in the army," he said. The government tried to accept conscientious objection to military service in the past but failed, but now the Supreme Court has ruled late though it is.
The UN Commission on Human Rights has a position that conscientious objection to military service must be protected. Korea has been in violation of this ruling. Those in Korea and many others who have worked for the implementation of this right were happy to see the ruling of the Korean Supreme Court.
