May 18, 2023
SEOUL – The military revised the enforcement regulations of the Military Disciplinary Decree and removed the part that stipulated sexual relationships between members of the same sex as “harassment.”
In November last year, the military announced a legislative amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Military Disciplinary Enforcement Decree, adding a new sentence that said “sexual harassment includes anal sex, oral sex or similar acts between the same sex against soldiers.” The part that specified the act “between the same sex” is removed in the renewed version.
The military made an advance legislation notice again Tuesday with the renewed version as simply following the definition of harassment under the Military Criminal Act, which is a higher law. The Military Criminal Act does not stipulate sexual acts between the same sex as prohibited.
The Supreme Court and a human rights watchdog had already encouraged the military not to consider sexual acts between same-sex soldiers a crime.
Earlier on April 21 last year, the Supreme Court ruled that sexual acts between same-sex soldiers in a private space under mutual consent cannot be punished under the Military Criminal Act. At the time, two officers were referred to trial for having a sexual relationship in accommodations outside the unit during nonworking hours.
The National Human Rights Commission also called for a revision of the enforcement rules. The NHRC received a request from the Defense Ministry last year to review the enforcement rules of the Military Disciplinary Enforcement Decree. The commission suggested adding a provision saying that sexual acts under voluntary agreement in private spaces should not be considered harassment. The suggestion, however, was not accepted in the renewed decree.