Male NCO Undergoes Gender Reassignment Surgery During Leave... "Wishes to Serve as Female Soldier"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] It has been reported that an Army non-commissioned officer (NCO) on leave underwent gender reassignment surgery overseas and expressed the intention to continue serving as a female soldier. This is the first time since the founding of the military that a serving soldier has undergone gender reassignment surgery and expressed the intention to "continue service."

According to the military on the 16th, NCO A, who is serving in an armored unit in northern Gyeonggi Province, took leave last year and underwent gender reassignment surgery overseas. After returning to the unit, A underwent a medical examination at a military hospital, which diagnosed A with a "Grade 3 mental and physical disability." It is known that before A took leave, the military hospital informed A that undergoing gender reassignment surgery might make it impossible to continue military service.

According to the "Military Personnel Act and Military Personnel Enforcement Regulations," personnel who receive a disability grade from a military hospital's medical examination are subject to a review of whether the disability is service-related and a discharge review. The Army, in the service-related review of A, recognized "the fact that the individual caused the disability themselves" and issued a "non-service-related" judgment.

The Army plans to hold a discharge review committee soon to examine whether A will be discharged. Current laws do not have separate regulations regarding continued service after gender reassignment for those who enlisted as males.

An Army official stated, "We are proceeding with the procedures legally according to the military hospital's mental and physical disability judgment," and emphasized, "Whether transgender individuals continue to serve is an issue that requires public consensus, and it seems necessary to address it through legislation and institutional improvements as a policy matter."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.