The Constitutional Court of Korea has declined to overturn laws against “anal intercourse” or “any other indecent act” in the South Korean military, ruling by 5-4 in favor of retaining the prohibitions laid down in the Military Criminal Act.
Judges determined that, even if consensual, homosexual acts risk “causing serious harm to preserving the fighting power of the nation’s armed forces” if committed while soldiers are in service.
LGBT lobby groups have expressed anger and disappointment at the ruling, with Amnesty International describing the “continued endorsement [of] the criminalization” of sodomy in the South Korean military as a “distressing setback in the decades-long struggle for equality in the country.”
Around 30 percent of the South Korean population is Christian, and Christian groups have been part of the pushback against the LGBT lobby in the country. Earlier this year, the Seoul Queer Culture Festival – the biggest Pride-style event in South Korea – was not licensed to go ahead at its annual venue, with a Christian youth concert taking place there instead.
We have US soldiers dressing up as drag queens while wearing their uniform.
The world is laughing at us. pic.twitter.com/1sRvs6HEEa
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 22, 2023
