Human Rights Commission: "Recommendation to Cancel Discharge of Late Sergeant Byeon Hee-su and Improve System Rejected by Army and Ministry of National Defense"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Human Rights Commission announced on the 11th that the Army and the Ministry of National Defense did not accept its recommendation regarding the late Corporal Byeon Hee-soo, who was forcibly discharged from the military after gender reassignment surgery.

Last December 14, the Human Rights Commission judged the forced discharge of Corporal Byeon as a human rights violation and recommended the Army Chief of Staff to cancel the discharge and the Minister of National Defense to revise related systems to prevent similar cases from occurring.

In response, the Army submitted reasons for non-compliance with the recommendation to the Human Rights Commission on the 22nd of last month, stating that Corporal Byeon's discharge was conducted through lawful administrative procedures and that a lawsuit to cancel the discharge is currently underway.

Additionally, the Ministry of National Defense conveyed to the Human Rights Commission that it respects the intent of the decision and plans to review whether there is room for system improvement through gathering various opinions and policy research, considering the military's unique characteristics and public consensus.

Accordingly, the Human Rights Commission held a plenary meeting the day before and judged that the Army did not accept the Commission's recommendation. Regarding the Ministry of National Defense, it was also deemed difficult to consider the recommendation accepted due to the absence of a concrete implementation plan.

The Human Rights Commission explained, "We decided to make the related content public, believing that our society needs to actively consider the issue and urge the Ministry of National Defense to improve the system."