In The Army Now, Or Maybe Not

Nearly two years of military service is mandatory for all male Koreans, but unlike the U.S. military the concept of a "conscientious objector" is a relatively new one.  However, the Korean Supreme Court has now made it possible for C.Os to avoid jail-time:

"The Supreme Court's ruling comes on the back of a decades-long fight by conscientious objectors, many of them Jehova's Witnesses, to push back against the country's stringent military service law, under which all men between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to perform at least 21 months of military service.

'We are happy to hear that the Supreme Court of South Korea has made a historic decision to recognize the rights of conscientious objectors,' said Paul Gillies, international spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses at their world headquarters in New York.

'For the last 65 years, over 19,300 Jehovah's Witnesses (in South Korea) have been imprisoned for standing firm for their Christian beliefs. This ruling is a huge step forward in ending this policy of imprisoning our fellow believers for conscientious objection.'

However, the Thursday ruling will not affect those already in prison, and only applies to the cases considered by the court and those in future."

Military service is a Big Deal in South Korea, and men who shirk it are definitely looked down upon.  But C.O.s who pick up a criminal record basically can't work white collar jobs for the rest of their lives.  I'm guessing that before long this will change.