Applying for Nationality Restoration at 34... Court Says "Hard to Consider as Military Service Evasion"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The court ruled that it was illegal to reject the nationality restoration application of a man who had previously renounced his South Korean nationality and applied for restoration at the age of 34 on suspicion of evading military service.

According to the legal community on the 17th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 3 (Chief Judge Hwanwoo Yoo) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Mr. A, a U.S. national, against the Minister of Justice to cancel the denial of nationality restoration. The court stated, "It is difficult to see that the plaintiff intended to evade military service at the time of losing nationality," and "At the time of applying for nationality restoration, the plaintiff was 33 years and 8 months old, and if the nationality restoration procedure proceeds quickly, active duty military service is not impossible." According to the Military Service Act, those who are granted permission to restore nationality are exempt from military service at the age of 38. However, those aged 36 or older may serve as social service agents at the discretion of the Military Manpower Administration.

Mr. A was born in the U.S. and spent most of his childhood there. He renounced his Korean nationality in 2003 when he was 17 years old and applied for nationality restoration in April last year. The Ministry of Justice judged that Mr. A renounced his nationality with the intention of evading military service and thus fell under the grounds for denial of nationality restoration, issuing a denial in December last year. Mr. A filed a lawsuit, stating, "I had no choice but to renounce my nationality according to the Nationality Act, and I expressed my intention to fulfill military service if I restored my nationality, but the Ministry of Justice's denial of nationality restoration is illegal."