South Korea reviews law banning homosexual activity in military

After a gay soldier was convicted of having sex with another gay soldier in May, the Korean government said it’s reviewing its military law banning homosexual activity.

The government is working on a human rights report it will submit to the United Nations that states, “We are reviewing the law so it will make the rules clearer for gay soldiers,” adding that not all gay soldiers will be punished just for homosexual activity. The report will be submitted to the U.N. human rights body later this month.

Yet, it defended the law’s fundamental purpose: “In a given circumstance where only men stay together, the law is necessary to keep order. Punishment of gay soldiers also serves this purpose.”

Rights violations for gay soldiers in Korea have been noted by other countries, which officially recommended Korea in 2012 to improve the situation through the U.N. peer review session. The national report is in response to that recommendation. Read more via South China Morning Post