Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Korea are encouraged that a local court has upheld freedom of conscience in relation to South Korea's mandatory military service requirement.
Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Korea are encouraged that a local court has upheld freedom of conscience in relation to South Korea’s mandatory military service requirement.
On May 21, the Seoul Southern District Court dismissed a prosecutor’s demand of jail time for a Korean national, identified only as “Oh,” who refused military service on conscientious objector grounds. Two others were also acquitted. None of the defendants were Adventist Church members.
“This is a step forward for freedom of conscience,” said Pastor Glenn Mitchell, public affairs and religious liberty director for the Adventist Church in the northern Asia-Pacific region, which includes Korea. “While we as Adventists applaud the court ruling, we do not oppose serving our country. We do uphold the right of the individual to choose alternative types of service.”
The defendants in the Seoul case were members of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a religious organization that says its members “peacefully refuse to participate” in governmental activities that conflict with their conscience, including military service. The May 21 verdicts are expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court in Korea for a final determination.
According to The Korea Herald, a daily newspaper in Seoul, the district court ruling “marked the first court recognition of the right to object to serving in the military in terms of their conscience.” The newspaper noted “a large number of related cases are pending,” presumably including those raised by Seventh-day Adventist Christians in Korea. (See ANN, December 9, 2003.)
Several Adventist students, including Young-chul Yoon and senior theology student Hwi-jai Lim, have been imprisoned for their conscientious objector stance. Following this, five Adventists refused to carry guns on May 19, 2003, during their time in the Republic of Korea’s mandatory military reserve training.
