Police: "National Forensic Service Finds No Criminal Suspicion in the Autopsy of Late Sergeant Byeon Hee-su"

On the 4th, news of the death of former Corporal Byeon Hee-soo, who was forcibly discharged after gender reassignment surgery, was reported. A memorial space for former Corporal Byeon has been set up in front of the Justice Party representative office at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The first autopsy results for Byeon Hee-soo (23), a former corporal who was forcibly discharged from the Army after gender reassignment, showed no signs of criminal suspicion.

The Chungbuk Sangdang Police Station announced on the 5th that they received a verbal opinion from the National Forensic Service autopsy results indicating that no signs of trauma or homicide, or any criminal suspicion, were found on Byeon’s body. The exact cause of death is expected to be confirmed once the histological examination results are available. It is also reported that the funeral arrangements for Byeon have been completed following the autopsy.

Byeon, who belonged to an Army unit in northern Gyeonggi Province, was found dead at his home in Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, around 5:40 p.m. on the 3rd. The reporter was a counselor at the Sangdang-gu Mental Health Center, who contacted 119 after failing to reach Byeon since the 28th of last month.

In 2019, while on leave, Byeon traveled abroad to undergo gender reassignment surgery 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 did not accept it. Subsequently, in August last year, Byeon filed a lawsuit at the Daejeon District Court against the Army Chief of Staff, seeking cancellation of the discharge order.

On December 14 of 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 Army Chief of Staff cancel the discharge decision.

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