'Conscientious objectors' see life in tatters

Four “conscientious objectors” gather for a roundtable interview with The Korea Times at a coffee shop in central Seoul, Wednesday. From left are Choi Jin-gyu, 26; Shin Dong-hyuk, 29; Choi Jin-taek, 31; and Ahn Gwang-hyun, 31. / Korea Times

Shin Dong-hyuk

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Shin Dong-hyuk has spent tumultuous eight years since he joined a legion of conscientious objectors refusing to serve in the military in 2006.

The 29-year-old lost his full-time job, has been indicted dozens of times for refusing to take reserve forces training after he was discharged from the military in 2005, and faces tens of millions of won in fines.

During a roundtable interview with three other conscientious objectors arranged by The Korea Times, Wednesday, Shin said that he may have to live with such daunting challenges for the rest of his life.

“Despite this, I have no regrets regarding my religion. I would be willing to take the suffering if that’s necessary to preserve my religious belief,” Shin said.

So far, the Jehovah’s Witness has been indicted 45 times for violating the Military Service Law which requires reservists to fulfill their obligations for eight years after they are discharged from the military.

In 2006 Shin joined the religion which teaches its believers not to engage in a war or any type of hostile acts or military training as they are designed to kill their brothers and sisters.

Korea doesn’t recognize conscientious objection to military service. The United Nations Human Rights Committee recommended that countries like Korea allow conscientious objectors to do alternative service.

But Korea has yet to push for any legislation to allow alternative service, still putting all objectors in jail. Over the past 60 years, approximately 16,000 conscientious objectors served jail terms and every year 600 to 700 are imprisoned.

South Korea is under pressure to stop such a practice. But advocates said Korea is still technically at war with North Korea and such a security situation makes it inevitable for the government to maintain the current law.

Over the past eight years, Shin’s refusal to comply with obligations for reserve forces caused him to appear to be questioned by police or prosecutors for 110 days.

Every time conscientious objectors refuse to fulfill their obligations, authorities deal out repeated punishment.

Since Shin refused to do his reserve obligations three times each year for the last eight years, he was punished each time.

Under the law, those who object or fail to fulfill reserve obligations for military service are subject to up to one year in prison, or a maximum two million won fine.

What makes it worse for him is that reserve duty is ongoing even though he was punished every time when he refused to serve. The military kept issuing a fresh notification urging him to fulfill the reserve obligations he skipped and as a result Shin gets punitive measures.

Shin’s frequent appearances for investigations and trials have ruined his career. “I had to change my job five times over the past eight years as no employers would allow a full-time employee to take a leave of absence so often,” he said.

Shin, now self-employed, became tired of the repeated punishment.

Korea under fire

Oh Du-jin, a lawyer, said that like Shin, there are approximately 100 men nationwide who are trapped in the vicious circle of repeated punishment for their objection to serve reserve duty.

The lawyer claimed that repeated punishment of conscientious objectors is apparently unconstitutional as it violates the rule prohibiting double jeopardy.

“But the Constitutional Court’s interpretation is different. In 2011, the courted ruled in favor of the current law and said that repeated orders for objectors to serve reserve duty should be considered multiple acts,” Oh said. “But this is not convincing at all.”

As an attorney, Oh represents 332 conscientious objectors in a petition calling for the Constitutional Court to rule against the National Assembly for the legislature’s do-nothing posture on the lack of a law that allows alternative service for the objectors. He submitted the petition to the court last Wednesday.

Regarding repeated punishment, an American law expert sided with Oh. Daniel Edelson, a professor at Soongsil University in Seoul, said renewed orders to fulfill reserve obligations should be seen as a single act.

“If a person refuses to serve in the military in response to serial requests for the same underlying reason, this should be considered a single act, not multiple acts,” Edelson said.

“I think a useful analogy would be a person who fails to pay his income tax in any given year. That is a single offense. If during the course of the year the state sends him 10 notices reminding him of the payment of a fine, he has not committed 11 offenses that year.”

The professor acknowledged conscience objection is an offense under South Korean law. “But it should be considered a single offense … (as) South Korea generally requires a single period of military service from its men,” he said.

Repeated punishment is against international norms ― the U.N. Human Rights Committee has called on governments not to use repeated punishment as it can violate religious freedom.

In its general comment on the right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair trial, the committee says “Repeated punishment of conscientious objectors for not having obeyed a renewed order to serve in the military may amount to punishment for the same crime if such subsequent refusal is based on the same constant resolve out of conscience.”

The committee further says repeated punishment violates the article protecting religion and belief since it is directed at changing an individual’s convictions.