Korea, South

Refusal to take part in war is as old as war itself. However, with the introduction of conscription as a more "effective" means for recruiting (first in France on 5 September 1798), and modern warfare, war resistance too had to become more organised. Former WRI Council secretary Tony Smythe wrote in 1967: "Men have always been impressed, levied, requisitioned, conscripted and bullied into the armies of their rulers but modern mass compulsory recruitment has been applied on a scale which makes it one of the major repressive institutions of our time, It is an integral part of the total war concept.

It has not been long since the concept of "nonviolent way of struggle" started to be used in the Korean social movement society.

Still, many people in social movements have a negative feeling about this concept. They regard "nonviolence" as a weak, passive and non-resistant way of struggle, and those perceptions seem to have come from the somewhat unique history that many Koreans have experienced.

Ulsan District Court

Decision to Request for Adjudication on Constitutionality of Law

Case 2007-Gojung-202 Violation of Establishment of Homeland Reserve Forces Act

Defendant Shin Dong-heok (83xxxx-xxxxxxx), a temporary laborer

Address : #101 / 412 Wonjin Apt., 443-21, Soju-ri, Ungsang-eup, Yangsan-si

Registered address : 201 Soengdong-ri, Yeongjung-myeon, Pocheon-si

Oh Tae-yang and ten others South Korean conscientious objectors will file a petition with the United Nations arguing that their convictions by the Korean government violated their freedom of conscience.

O Taeyang is a pacifist and buddhist. He declared his conscientious objection publicly on 17 December 2001. On 7 February 2002, a court decided that he would be not imprisoned while awaiting trial - this was the first time in any conscientious objection case in South Korea.

The United Nations' Human Rights Committee passed a landmark decision on the right to conscientious objection when deciding on the individual complaints of two Korean conscientious objectors at its 88th session on October/November 2006.

In its decision, the Human Rights Committee concluded that the Republic of Korea had violated the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as guaranteed by Article 18 of the ICCPR when denying the two applicants their right to conscientious objection.

UNITED NATIONS International covenant on civil and political rights

Distr.
RESTRICTED*
CCPR/C/88/D/1321-1322/2004
23 January 2007
Original: ENGLISH

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Eighty-eighth session
16 October – 3 November 2006

Subject matter: Conscientious objection on the basis of genuinely-held religious beliefs to
enlistment in compulsory military service
Procedural issues: Joinder of communications
Substantive issues: Freedom to manifest religion or belief – permissible limitations on
manifestation
Articles of the Optional Protocol: None
Articles of the Covenant: 18, paragraphs 1 and 3

The Human Rights Committee, considered the periodical report of the Republic of Korea during its 88th session this year. The official report of the government of Korea gives some insights into the situation of conscientious objectors in the country. According to the report, the "development of nuclear weapons by North Korea poses a serious threat to the existence and security of the Republic of Korea.

CCPR/C/KOR/CO/3
28 November 2006

(...)

17. The Committee is concerned that: (a) under the Military Service Act of 2003 the penalty for refusal of active military service is imprisonment for a maximum of three years and that there is no legislative limit on the number of times they may be recalled and subjected to fresh penalties; (b) those who have not satisfied military service requirements are excluded from employment in government or public organisations and that (c) convicted conscientious objectors bear the stigma of a criminal record (art.18).

POLITICAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE QUESTION OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

Addendum
Summary of cases transmitted to Governments and replies received

(...)

Republic of Korea
Communication sent on 24 May 2005

292. The Special Rapporteur had received reports that 1030 Jehovah’s witnesses were jailed in the Republic of Korea because they refused to do military service for reasons related to their religious belief.

On 15 December 2005, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea released its recommendation on the national human rights action plan of Korea. The 130 pages document deals with a variety of issues, but among others it recommends "that conscientious objection to military service should be allowed to ensure individual rights to religion and freedom, and that the alternatives to military service should be adopted".

Day 1 (Sunday, 26 June): Peace in North East Asia (Opening Panel)

The opening panel will introduce the different security threats and peace related issues of the region to the international and regional audience and also introduce concept of non-violent resistance, which WRI has pursued so far, and will contribute to peace movement in this region. For this panel, we aim to get speakers from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China and WRI members.

War Resisters' International worked together with South Korean partner organisations for an international seminar on peace in North-East Asia, held at the Bongdo Centre outside Seoul in June 2005. The seminar brought together peace activists and peace researchers from North-East Asia and all over the world, to discuss the present threats to peace in North-East Asia, and possible peace movement responses, based on War Resisters' International's more than 80 years of experience with nonviolence.