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A court remarkably acquitted three ¡°conscientious objectors¡± who refused to serve their compulsory military service due to their religious belief. The decision is expected to have repercussions.
The Seoul Southern District Court dismissed the prosecution¡¯s request to imprison a 22-year-old Jehovah¡¯s Witness, identified as Oh, for violating the Korean Military Service Law in refusing mandatory military conscription. The ruling stated that his act of refusing to join the army or answer the conscription is justified because it was decided according to conscience and thus is a sufficient enough cause to be protected by the clause of the freedom of conscience in the Constitution.
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Jeong (23), a Jehovah¡¯s Witness, and his supporter and radio performer Yang Ji-un leave the court house. Jeong, a ¡°conscientious objector¡± who refused to serve his military duty, was acquitted by the Seoul Southern District Court on Friday./Yonhap
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The court also acquitted a 23-year-old Jehovah¡¯s Witness accused of refusing to serve his military service, and a 32-year-Jehovah¡¯s Witness, who refused to answer for reserve duty.
The courts however sentenced a 23-year-old conscientious objector to a three year prison term because of a violation of the Korean Military Service Law in refusing to join the army due to his religious belief, saying that his excuse was not sufficient.
The court said in its ruling, ¡°The freedom of conscience includes not only the freedom of mind that constitutes the moral judgment of right and wrong and good and evil that the state cannot interfere in, but also the freedom of silence that guarantees the right not to be forced to express one¡¯s moral judgment explicitly by state power.¡±
It added that the International Covenants on Human Rights (B) states in clause 2 of article 18 that "one¡¯s freedom to choose one¡¯s own religion shall not be violated by any force." The ICHR (B) is a covenant on civil and political rights and Korea joined it in 1990.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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