[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] The Army has discharged a non-commissioned officer who enlisted as a male and underwent gender reassignment surgery.
On the 22nd, the Army held a discharge review committee and decided to discharge the individual, judging that it falls under the grounds for "inability to continue service" according to the Military Personnel Act and related laws.
The Army also stated that while it sympathizes with the fundamental intent of the Human Rights Commission's "urgent relief recommendation," it followed procedures based on the results of a mandatory medical examination, regardless of personal reasons such as the application for gender correction.
It is reported that Sergeant A is the first soldier since the founding of the Army to undergo gender reassignment surgery and express the intention to continue service.
According to the Army, Sergeant A, who enlisted as a male soldier and is serving in a unit in northern Gyeonggi Province, underwent gender reassignment surgery overseas during leave last year and returned. After returning to the unit, Sergeant A underwent a mandatory medical examination regarding physical changes at a military hospital, which diagnosed a "Grade 3 mental and physical disability." According to the disability grading table for mental and physical disabilities under the Military Personnel Act Enforcement Rules, disability grades can be assigned related to the loss of male genitalia.
The civic group Military Human Rights Center claimed that the military judged Sergeant A as mentally and physically disabled due to the loss of male genitalia and rejected a request to postpone the discharge review date until after the court's gender correction decision. The Center filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, arguing that the military's rejection constitutes a human rights violation.
The Human Rights Commission recommended the Army Chief of Staff to postpone the discharge review committee for Sergeant A, who underwent gender reassignment surgery during service.
The Human Rights Commission judged, "There is no separate legislation or precedent for transgender individuals serving on active duty, and referring the non-commissioned officer to the discharge review committee by judging the gender reassignment surgery as a physical disability has the potential to be discriminatory based on gender identity."
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