S.Korean military ordered to drop appeal plan against transgender soldier ruling

Seoul, Oct 23 (IANS) The South Korean Justice Ministry has ordered the military to drop its plan to challenge a court ruling that said it was unjust to discharge a transgender soldier over her gender reassignment surgery.

Justice Minister Park Beom-kye accepted a recommendation from an advising committee on administrative suits which reviewed the case of Byun Hee-soo, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The court's ruling is not intended to allow transgender people to serve in the military, but it's saying that the military's compulsorily discharge order against the deceased, who was a woman at that time, for reasons such as the loss of the penis and testicular defects, is unlawful based on related laws," the Ministry said on Friday.

Earlier this month, the Daejeon District Court ruled it was unfair for the military to discharge Byun, formerly a staff sergeant in her 20s, over her gender reassignment surgery in 2019.

Byun underwent the surgery in Thailand in 2019, two years after voluntarily enlisting, and expressed her desire to keep serving in the military as a female soldier.

But the Army decided to compulsorily discharge her in January last year.

She later filed a suit over its decision to discharge her against her will but was found dead in an apparent suicide in March this year.

The Defence Ministry said it respects the court ruling but believes there is a need for a higher court to review the case and it would seek an appeal.

It then requested the Justice Ministry make a judgment on its plan, as it is responsible for overseeing suits pursued by the state under a law.