Will Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act Be Abolished? "Guaranteeing Soldiers' Equality Rights and Pursuit of Happiness"

Supreme Court: "Consensual Same-Sex Relations Between Soldiers Cannot Be Punished"
Jang Hye-young Introduces Bill to Repeal Article 92-6 of Military Criminal Act
"Legislature Must Respond to Guarantee Soldiers' Equality, Dignity, and Pursuit of Happiness Rights"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Supreme Court has ruled that consensual sexual relations between same-sex soldiers in private spaces are not subject to punishment. This overturns previous precedents, indicating that consensual sexual relations outside the military cannot simply be considered a violation of military discipline. In line with this, a bill to abolish Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act, which criminalizes consensual sexual acts between same-sex individuals, has been proposed in the National Assembly, drawing attention to whether this provision will be completely removed.

According to political circles on the 23rd, Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young submitted a bill to repeal Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act the day before.

Earlier, on the 21st, the Supreme Court en banc (presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) overturned the lower court’s guilty verdict against professional soldiers A and B, who were charged with violating Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act, and remanded the case to the High Military Court with a verdict of not guilty by a majority of eight justices. They were charged with having multiple sexual encounters from September 2016 to February of the following year in single soldiers’ quarters outside the base. Under Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act, soldiers charged with anal intercourse or other sexual acts can face imprisonment of up to two years.

The majority of justices stated, "It is not possible to punish under the current regulation even in cases where it is difficult to see that either of the two protected legal interests, 'sexual self-determination of soldiers' and 'sound life and military discipline,' has been infringed," adding, "Excessively restricting the sexual self-determination of soldiers solely because they are soldiers risks violating constitutionally guaranteed rights such as the pursuit of happiness."

Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act has long been regarded as an outdated law that unjustly infringes on personal privacy and causes discrimination. Lawmaker Jang said when proposing the amendment, "The military, which should protect soldiers from discrimination based on sexual orientation, has instead blatantly discriminated against and subjected uniformed citizens to violence because of their sexual orientation," adding, "Now the legislature will respond to ensure that soldiers’ rights to equality, dignity, and pursuit of happiness are protected without discrimination."

Jang also noted, "Article 92-6 was created with reference to the U.S. 'sodomy law,' which was actually repealed in the U.S. after the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional," and added, "Following the trend of international human rights law decriminalizing homosexuality, the repeal of Article 92-6 was recommended in the 2012 United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and again by the UN Human Rights Committee in November 2015."

The recently proposed partial amendment to the Military Criminal Act was jointly submitted by Democratic Party lawmakers Kang Min-jung, Kwon In-sook, Park Joo-min, and Lee Sang-min; Justice Party lawmakers Kang Eun-mi, Shim Sang-jung, Bae Jin-gyo, Ryu Ho-jeong, and Lee Eun-joo; Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in; and independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang. No lawmakers from the People Power Party participated.

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