Legally Male but Identifies as Female... Court Rules "Should Be Exempt from Reserve Forces"

Male Undergoing Hormone Therapy "Reservist Training Is Harsh"
Court Rules Exemption from Reservist Training Due to Gender Mismatch Is Justified

A court ruling has determined that men living with a female gender identity while undergoing female hormone therapy should be exempt from mandatory reserve forces training.

Although legally living as men, it was deemed harsh to require them to train alongside male reservists because they essentially possess a female gender identity.

The Administrative Division 1 of the Gwangju District Court (Chief Judge Park Sang-hyun) ruled in favor of Plaintiff A on the 12th in a lawsuit filed against the Gwangju-Jeonnam Military Manpower Administration to cancel a military service disposition.

A enlisted as an active-duty soldier in 2016 but was classified as having difficulty adapting to military service and completed his service as a social service agent. After discharge, A was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and has been living in society with a female identity while receiving female hormone therapy.

Subsequently, A filed a request to change his military service disposition, asking not to be required to attend reserve forces training starting from 2019, but the Military Manpower Administration did not accept this.

Reservists undergoing mobilization training. The photo is not directly related to the article content. [Image source=Yonhap News]

A argued, “I am socially and physically recognized as female, so it is harsh to require me to train with male reservists,” and “other transgender individuals have been exempted from training, so this violates the principle of equality.”

The court sided with A. The court explained, “It cannot be seen that the plaintiff has been receiving female hormone therapy for over two years and living as a woman solely for the purpose of exemption from reserve forces training.”

Furthermore, the court ruled, “It is reasonable to consider the plaintiff exempt from reserve forces training due to gender incongruence and to classify him as physical grade 5, which corresponds to the wartime labor service category.”

Meanwhile, most countries worldwide have procedures and criteria for legally changing gender, but recently, there have been movements, especially in Europe, to simplify these processes.

In Ukraine, when Russia launched an invasion on February 24 last year, martial law was declared, and men aged 18 to 60 were prohibited from leaving the country. This measure allowed them to be conscripted as reservists at any time if the war situation worsened. However, controversy arose over how to handle individuals who had undergone gender transition but legally retained their original gender.

In response, the Ukrainian government issued an interpretation stating, “Those who have become women but are still legally men must remain within the territory.”