Jehovah’s Witnesses Will Now Be Exempt from Military Service Act in South Korea
- By C Barnett --
- 28 Jun 2018 --
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.
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