Army Chief of Staff "Reviewing Appeal Decision on Former Sergeant Byeon Hee-su's Discharge Cancellation Ruling"

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Nam Young-shin, Chief of Staff of the Army, revealed that he is carefully reviewing whether to appeal the case of the late Sergeant Byeon Hee-soo. This is the first time General Nam has expressed his position on the death of Sergeant Byeon.

On the 13th, at the National Defense Committee’s audit held at the Army Headquarters in Gyeryongdae, Gyeryong City, Chungnam Province, General Nam responded to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byung-joo regarding the first trial verdict, saying, "We are deeply examining the issue considering the military’s special characteristics, public consensus, LGBTQ human rights issues, and relevant laws," and added, "We will cooperate with the Ministry of National Defense soon to review it thoroughly."

When Democratic Party lawmaker Ki Dong-min asked about the Army’s procedural evaluation of the series of events at that time as an active-duty chief, he replied, "I think the judgment made at that time was a proper judgment given the circumstances." This statement appears to reflect the position that the Army’s decision to forcibly discharge Sergeant Byeon was a "proper judgment," keeping in mind that the discharge was carried out during the tenure of the previous Chief of Staff, Seo Wook.

Sergeant Byeon, who belonged to an Army unit in northern Gyeonggi Province, underwent gender reassignment surgery abroad during leave in 2019 and returned, hoping to "continue service." However, the military conducted a medical examination regarding Sergeant Byeon’s physical changes and decided to discharge him in January of last year. Subsequently, Sergeant Byeon filed a personnel appeal with the Army Headquarters in February last year, requesting a re-examination, but the Army did not accept it. Sergeant Byeon then filed an administrative lawsuit but was found dead at his home before the first hearing. However, on the 7th, the Daejeon District Court Administrative Division 2 (Presiding Judge Oh Young-pyo) ruled in favor of Sergeant Byeon in the case requesting cancellation of the discharge order against the Chief of Staff of the Army filed during his lifetime.

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