An entrance ceremony for the 77th class of cadets is held at the Korea Naval Academy in Changwon, 398 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Feb. 15, 2019, in this photo provided by the school.
SEOUL, June 25 (Korea Bizwire) – A state human rights watchdog ruled that the decision by the Korea Naval Academy to punish a number of cadets for violating regulations on dating infringes upon the cadets’ right to happiness, privacy, and freedom.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said Thursday that it advised the dean to retract sanctions imposed on 47 cadets and amend regulations.
The Naval Academy said the decision was based on the intent to protect first year cadets from being forced by senior students to go out on dates, and to ensure fairness when senior cadets take charge of teaching and assessing first year students.
The NHRCK, while admitting that regulations on the code of conduct at military academies are a universal phenomenon, decided that an outright ban on dating for first year cadets goes against the Constitution, which the ensures protection of the people’s fundamental rights.
“The regulations fail even to define the act of ‘delivering personal feelings to a heterosexual individual with the intent to start a romantic relationship,’” the NHRCK said.
“We cannot help but question the ability of a national agency to prove what is intended for dating and what is not, or even if that is at all possible.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
