Contrary to the widely parroted statement from South Korean army investigators that his initial arrest was made over a video that appeared on social media depicting a homosexual act, the captain, also referred to as Lieutenant A during the trial, had no involvement in the video. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
SEOUL, May 24 (Korea Bizwire) – A South Korean army captain who was arrested during a controversial clandestine investigation into gay soldiers in the military received a sentence of six months of imprisonment suspended for one year at his final trial today, despite public calls for his release.
Contrary to the widely parroted statement from South Korean army investigators that his initial arrest was made over a video that appeared on social media depicting a homosexual act, the captain, also referred to as Lieutenant A during the trial, had no involvement in the video.
As grounds for his arrest were said to have been violating Section 6 of Article 92 of the South Korean military’s criminal code, which prohibits anal intercourse within the military, the credibility of the evidence behind the soldier’s sentencing is being questioned, as the captain was incarcerated for having consensual sex with another man on his own private time, outside the military.
Lim Tae-hoon, the head of the Military Human Rights Center Korea (MHRCK), slammed the verdict, saying “(The army court) has criminalized someone over their personal life purely because they are gay. It’s a national embarrassment given the fact that South Korea has served as a member state of the United Nations Human Rights Council for over a decade.”
In an interview with Kyonghyang Sinmun published yesterday, the Lieutenant A’s lawyer said all of the soldiers who were targeted by the undercover investigation in the army were engaged in homosexual sex outside the military, further raising the illegitimacy of the army court’s decision.
In addition to the six-month jail term, Lieutenant A, who was scheduled to complete his time in the army last month, was discharged as of today, depriving him of the right to a retirement pension and severely limiting his employment prospects in the future.
The captain, who pleaded innocent, collapsed in shock when the final verdict was reached at South Korea’s general military court today, injuring his head before he was moved to a hospital for treatment, according to the MHRCK’s Lim.
Last month, the mother of the convicted captain made a plea to the public in a defiant statement that was released soon after her son was arrested, in which she wrote, “I’m not embarrassed of my son even in the slightest. Though I’m not highly educated and taken aback by the shocking news, I know that it shouldn’t be a crime for my son to love another man, that it shouldn’t be something to be ashamed of.”
Hyunsu Yim (hyunsu@koreabizwire.com)
