Court Rules "Alternative Medicine Such as Dosu Therapy Not Eligible for Military Service Postponement Exemption"

Special Provisions Applied to Medical Graduate Schools Do Not Apply to Alternative Medicine

[Asia Economy Reporter Myung-Hwan Lee] A court ruling has determined that the special provision under the Military Service Act, which allows graduate students majoring in medicine to defer military service, does not apply to alternative medicine treatments such as manual therapy.

The Administrative 14th Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Sang-Hoon Lee) recently ruled against Plaintiff A in a lawsuit filed against the Seoul Regional Military Manpower Administration, requesting the cancellation of the decision to deny an extension of overseas travel period.

In 2019, A began a three-year master's program in chiropractic, a type of manual therapy, in Australia. To complete the program, he applied to the Military Manpower Administration to extend his overseas travel period from December 2020 to March 2022.

According to the Military Service Act, men over a certain age cannot defer military service or travel abroad without special provisions. Those enrolled in a three-year master's program can defer until age 27, while those in general graduate medical programs or medical professional graduate schools can defer until age 28. An additional year is granted if the graduate school is overseas.

The Military Manpower Administration determined that since A was enrolled in an "overseas three-year graduate master's program," he could defer until age 28, and thus denied his application, stating that as someone born in 1992, his allowable overseas stay was only until December 31, 2020.

A filed a lawsuit claiming the Military Manpower Administration's decision was incorrect. He argued that upon completing his graduate school, he would be eligible for a medical license in Australia, so the special provision applicable to general graduate medical programs, not the overseas three-year master's program, should apply.

However, the court ruled that "alternative medicine such as chiropractic is not included in the medical fields defined by the Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act," and upheld the Military Manpower Administration's decision. A key basis for the ruling was that while the Military Service Act explicitly lists fields such as medicine, dentistry, Korean medicine, veterinary medicine, and pharmacy, it does not include alternative medicine.

A requested consideration of Australia's unique circumstances, but the court stated, "It is difficult to view this as a reasonable interpretation in light of the principle of equality in military service burdens, as it would result in different military obligations depending on the country where the conscript studies."

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