Men who refused to train reserve troops on the grounds of'nonviolent beliefs' were found acquitted. This is the first case in which conscientious reasons other than religion were recognized as legitimate reasons for refusing military service.
Today (25th), the first division of the Supreme Court (Presidential Judge Lee Heung-gu) announced that it has confirmed the court case of acknowledging innocence in the appeal of Mr. A, who was accused of violating the Reserve Military Act.
Earlier, after being discharged in 2013, Mr. A was handed over to trial on charges of not attending reservist training 16 times from 2016 to 2018.
Mr. A argued, "When I saw my violent father, I had a belief in non-violence, and after watching the video of the US military killing civilians, I thought that taking the lives of others cannot be justified through war."
The judge ruled, "Even if it is based on ethical, moral, or philosophical beliefs rather than religious beliefs, if it is based on true conscience, it is a legitimate reason for rejection set by the Reserve Army Act."
Meanwhile, the first and third divisions of the Supreme Court (Chief Judge Park Jeong-hwa and Justice Min Yoo-sook) confirmed the court trials sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for B and C, who refused to enlist because of their peaceful beliefs, saying, ``It is difficult to say that their beliefs are true.'' I did.
Immediately after the sentence, they held a press conference and expressed their positions. Let’s watch the video.
(Composition: Hwiran Kim, Filming: Jinho Seo, Editing: Heeju Cha)