"Opposing Violence and War" but Enjoying 'War Games'... Male Conscientious Objector Sentenced to Prison

Refusing Enlistment After Receiving Draft Notice Saying "Oppose War"
Court: "Doubtful Sincerity... Not Conscientious Objection to Military Service"

A man who refused military service due to his beliefs and military corruption was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison. The reason was that his usual behavior, such as enjoying war games, did not align with the sincerity of conscientious objection to military service.

According to the legal community on the 4th, Mr. A received a notice to enlist as an active-duty soldier in October 2018 but was prosecuted for violating the Military Service Act after failing to enlist without a valid reason.

During the trial, he claimed, “I refused active-duty enlistment based on my belief opposing violence and war,” and argued, “There is a justifiable reason under the Military Service Act, so no crime is established.”

He also asserted that “military law is not humane and there are many irrational aspects of military life,” and “I reject the military where unjust orders are rampant due to corruption.”

However, the first trial court sentenced Mr. A to 1 year and 6 months in prison, stating, “The conscience referred to in conscientious objection must be deep, firm, and sincere,” and “If the objector behaves differently depending on the situation, such belief cannot be considered sincere.”

Trainees at the Army training center receiving instruction on how to use gas masks
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The court held that although conscience cannot be objectively proven, at least circumstantial facts must support it. It cited that Mr. A never expressed his intention to conscientiously object to military service to state authorities and did not engage in any non-violence or anti-war activities.

The court also pointed out that Mr. A regularly enjoyed the war game ‘Battlegrounds.’ While killing characters with firearms in a virtual world differs from reality, the fact that the defendant, who refused enlistment on the grounds of a non-violent belief, enjoyed such games was a reason to doubt the sincerity he claimed.

The court judged that the military’s hierarchical culture, human rights violations, and corruption, which Mr. A cited as major reasons for refusing enlistment, also do not fall under justifiable reasons for conscientious objection.

Mr. A appealed, but the second trial court also dismissed it, stating, “It is difficult to recognize that fulfilling military service obligations is a belief so deep, firm, and sincere that it would destroy the defendant’s personal dignity.”

Subsequently, the Supreme Court’s 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) dismissed Mr. A’s appeal on the 11th of last month, affirming the lower court’s ruling of 1 year and 6 months imprisonment, stating, “There is no error in the original judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience, exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misinterprets the legal principles regarding justifiable reasons under Article 88, Paragraph 1 of the Military Service Act.”

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