Sex hormone injection okay for gay enlistee, court rules

/ The Korea Times file

Korean national court ruled Thursday not guilty for a homosexual enlistee who repeatedly injected himself a sex hormone steroid to avoid entering the obligatory military service, a local online newspaper said Sunday.

The 22-year-old only identified by surname Kim entered the military service in September 2011. But as a person of the sexual minority group, he feared the environment where he was surrounded by male comrades. He reported to one of his superiors about his sexual identity and was sent home as a temporary measure.

During his time away from the barrack, Kim was informed by another homosexual man that he could permanently avoid going back to the barrack if he injected himself a sex hormone steroid. According to the source, he self-injected the steroid 17 times over 10 months.

Kim then had his body examined for re-entrance to the service, dressed as a transvestite. Military officials, however, got hold of him and subjected him to a court’s judgment.

Supreme Court ruled Kim not guilty in the first and second trials. The court took into consideration that he used to experience a strong urge for sex change as early as when he was in his middle school. “The accused has a history of innate sexual disorientation. It certainly dilutes criminality from the fact that he resorted to the self-injection of sex hormone steroid to avoid the military service,” the judge said, according to the source.