"Human Rights Commission Recommends No Disadvantage in NCO Selection Due to Juvenile Offender Record... Ministry of National Defense and Marine Corps 'Reject'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Human Rights Commission announced on the 28th that the Ministry of National Defense and the Marine Corps Command did not accept the commission's recommendation that no disadvantages should be given when selecting Marine Corps non-commissioned officers even if there is a history of juvenile crime resulting in protective measures.

On November 25 last year, the Human Rights Commission recommended the Marine Corps Commandant to prepare measures to ensure that past juvenile protective measures under the Juvenile Act would not cause disadvantages such as disqualification when applying for non-commissioned officer positions, and recommended the Ministers of National Defense and Justice to improve related systems.

In this regard, the Ministry of Justice replied to the Human Rights Commission in April this year that "to fundamentally prevent employment disadvantages due to juvenile referral records before juvenile court transfer, it plans to amend the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Execution of Punishments (형실효법) so that investigation records related to juvenile referral and deferred prosecution of juvenile offenders are not reported during the appointment of officer cadets and military officers."

On the other hand, the Ministry of National Defense and the Marine Corps Command opposed the Human Rights Commission's recommendation, stating, "Considering the status and duties of military officers, strict compliance and morality are required, and candidates must have basic qualities and capabilities," and "Considering the eligibility (age) and average application age of military officer candidates, if there are no criminal or investigation records such as juvenile protective measures, there are very limited means to verify the qualifications of applicants."

They further stated, "Since officers must perform duties as commanders after commissioning, it is desirable to comprehensively verify character and qualifications, including past mistakes during juvenile delinquency," and responded with a 'not acceptable' opinion to the Human Rights Commission's recommendation.

In response, the Human Rights Commission judged that using juvenile protective measures, which are special measures under the Juvenile Act for the sound development of juveniles, as obstacles to selection and employment contradicts the legislative intent. The commission stated, "As a national institution, efforts should be made to provide juvenile offenders with opportunities for rehabilitation and protect human rights, but instead, blocking the path to military employment fundamentally infringes on 'freedom of occupation' and 'equality rights.' Therefore, it was judged necessary to take a proactive stance and make active improvement efforts, and decided to publicize the related content."

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