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South Korea court upholds military gay sex ban, saying it affects combat readiness
- Under the country’s military criminal act, members of the armed forces face up to 2 years in prison for same-sex relationships
- It’s the fourth time since 2002 that the constitutional court has upheld the law, a move activists say is a ‘distressing setback’ in the struggle for equality
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South Korea’s constitutional court has narrowly upheld a law banning same-sex relations within the armed forces, citing a possible risk to the military’s combat readiness in a ruling criticised by activists as a setback for gay rights.
Under the country’s military criminal act, members of the armed forces face up to two years in prison for same-sex relationships.
The law has been referred to the court and upheld by it four times since 2002.
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In Thursday’s five-to-four ruling, the court said allowing same-sex relations could undermine discipline within the military and harm its combat capabilities.
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K-pop video banned over ‘homosexuality’ concerns by South Korean public broadcaster
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Rights groups have been urging the court to scrap what they describe as an “outdated and bad” law, after the Supreme Court last year overturned a military court’s conviction of two soldiers sentenced to suspended prison terms for a consensual same-sex relationship.
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