A group of recruits executes log curls as a team during a training session at a Navy boot camp in the southwestern port city of Changwon on Jan. 29, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — A man who chose not to serve in the military based on his religious beliefs has been acquitted of the charges he faced.
The Daejeon District Court overruled the appeal from the prosecution that charged a 26-year-old man with violation of the Military Service Act and pronounced him to be not guilty.
The man was turned over to the court for failing to enter military service after having received an enlistment notice in November 2016.
The lower district court acknowledged that the man was a conscientious objector who was led by his mother to become a Jehova’s Witness during his teenage years. He reportedly attended church regularly and studied the Bible.
The prosecution argued that the man had no specific evidence that proves he engaged in religious and voluntary activities. They also claimed that the man had engaged in playing games that were violent.
The appellate court ruled, however, that playing violent games to hang out with friends falls short of denying his religious beliefs.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
