[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Byeon Hee-soo (23), a former corporal who was forcibly discharged from the Army after gender reassignment surgery, was found dead at home on the 3rd.
According to the police, Byeon was found deceased at his home in Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk Province at around 5:40 p.m. that day. The reporter was a counselor at the Sangdang-gu Mental Health Center, who contacted 119 after losing contact with Byeon since the 28th of last month.
The center reportedly reported to the fire department out of concern because Byeon had previously attempted an extreme act, was considered high risk, and had been out of contact. The fire department judged from the state of decomposition that Byeon had been dead for several days.
No suicide note was found at the scene. The police are investigating the exact circumstances of the death.
Byeon underwent gender reassignment surgery abroad during leave in 2019 and returned, expressing a desire to continue service. However, the military decided to discharge Byeon in January of last year.
Byeon filed a personnel appeal with the Army Headquarters in February last year, requesting a review of the discharge decision, but the Army rejected it, stating that the procedure was lawful. Subsequently, Byeon filed a lawsuit in August last year at the Daejeon District Court against the Chief of Staff of the Army, seeking cancellation of the discharge order.
On December 14th last year, the National Human Rights Commission, through a plenary session, judged the Army's forced discharge of Byeon as an 'unjust human rights violation' and recommended the Chief of Staff of the Army cancel the discharge order.
※ If you have difficult concerns such as depression or know family or acquaintances experiencing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour professional counseling through the Suicide Prevention Hotline ☎1393, Mental Health Counseling ☎1577-0199, Hope Phone ☎129, Life Line ☎1588-9191, Youth Phone ☎1388, Youth Mobile Counseling app ‘Da Deureojul Gae’, KakaoTalk, and others.
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