Supreme Court: "Refusal of Reserve Forces Training for Religious Reasons is Justified"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A man who joined the Jehovah's Witnesses after completing his military service and refused reserve forces training was acquitted by the Supreme Court. This is the first ruling on a violation of the Reserve Forces Act since the Supreme Court's full bench ruling in 2018 that religious and conscientious objectors to military service should not be punished under the Military Service Act.

On the 28th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Park Sang-ok) overturned and remanded the lower court's guilty verdict in the appeal trial of Mr. Nam, who was charged with violating the Reserve Forces Act.

Mr. Nam was prosecuted and tried for repeatedly receiving notices to attend "deferred supplementary training" at his residence in Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam, from June to August 2017, but failing to participate without justifiable reasons. Although he completed active military service, he later converted to a religion. In previous trials, he claimed, "As a Jehovah's Witness, I did not participate in the training based on freedom of conscience, which constitutes a justifiable reason."

The first and second trials ruled, "While the defendant's refusal to participate in training based on his religious beliefs can be understood from the perspective of freedom of conscience, it cannot be considered a justifiable reason under the Reserve Forces Act, as it sufficiently threatens or has the potential to threaten constitutional values such as national security." The first trial sentenced him to 10 months in prison with a 2-year probation, and the second trial imposed a fine of 5 million won.

However, the Supreme Court's ruling differed. It stated, "Reserve forces training, as the fulfillment of military duty involving bearing arms or military training, should be interpreted as a 'justifiable reason' according to the legal principles of the full bench ruling."

In fact, the Constitutional Court ruled in June 2018 that the Military Service Act, which did not provide for alternative service for conscientious objectors, was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court's full bench also ruled in November of the same year that religious beliefs are included as justifiable reasons under the Military Service Act and that conscientious objectors should not be criminally punished.