Skip to content
Thursday, September 24, 2026
World Religion NewsWorld Religion News

Covering the world of religion — every faith, every voice

Christianity

Jehovah’s Witnesses Will Now Be Exempt from Military Service Act in South Korea

C Barnett · Jun 28, 2018 · 1 min read

Share
South Korea Makes Historic Change To Protect Jehovah’s Witnesses

South Korea Makes Historic Change To Protect Jehovah’s Witnesses

Constitutional Court Allows Jehovah’s Witnesses To Avoid Military Service

A momentous change has occurred in South Korea. The South Korean Constitutional Court has ruled that a section of the Military Service Act is unconstitutional. The law is one of the oldest laws of the modern Korean government, existing for 65 years.

The policy jailed any Korean man who refused conscription for military service as a consciousness objector. As WRN reported, this has imprisoned thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses for decades.

The Constitutional Court ruled the section about consciousness objectors was unconstitutional because it did not provide an alternative way to fulfill civic service.

Judges will now have to offer alternative options in future cases. Koreans already jailed under the Military Service Act will be released.

Resources

Follow the Conversation on Twitter

The Daily Briefing

Every faith. Every morning. One thoughtful email.

The day’s most important religion news, curated by our editors and delivered before your first coffee.

Free. No spam. One-click unsubscribe in every email. Data controller: the foundation that publishes this site (Spain).

World Religion News
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.