Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Homosexuals have right to serve in army
By Kwon Mee-yoo
A homosexual man who was discharged from mandatory military service with a riot police unit because of his sexual orientation filed a complaint to the Ministry of National Defense requesting to serve in the Army.
Lee Gye-deok, 24, was a riot policeman in 2008 and applied for a transfer to the Army after revealing his sexual orientation, however, he was subject to disciplinary action by the police unit and was then dismissed earlier this year.
He wrote that it is absurd that he could not serve in the Army because he is homosexual. “If heterosexuals serve in the army, so should homosexuals,” he said.
“Homosexual people have the right to properly serve the military,” he said. “My coming out became an obstacle to me, but I think gays can perform military duties just as well as heterosexuals.”
In 2008, he asked for a transfer from the riot police to the Army. “Riot police played the role of a villain when citizens mounted candlelit protests against the import of U.S. beef,” he said. “I doubted whether what I was doing was for the nation or not.”
He added that riot police perform meaningless duty and wanted to know how he could enter military service. However, the Military Manpower Administration said he was not eligible for mandatory army service as he had been discharged from duty.