I’m profoundly disappointed amendment of the Military Service Act adopted 10 Honorable MPs from the Democratic Party of Korea. Currently, 103 countries, including the US, Japan, France, and Germany, are conducting recruitment in their military. After the end of the Cold War, the abolition of conscription and recruitment within the military became a global trend.
Recently, Taiwan abolished conscription in 2002. In 1987, the UN Human Rights Commission formally recognized the publishment of conscientious objectors as a violation of international law. It is no longer appropriate for the Republic of Korea to put shackles on its 7.5 million compatriots in the name of “military service.” The bill results from the National Assembly’s tabletop discussion, caught in the anachronistic debate on the draft system. As a result, it will only increase the conflict between men and women due to the loss and deprivation of opportunities for men in their twenties.
According to the content legislation, “There are cases where overseas Korean workers return to their country at the age of 36 who hold foreign residency and try to avoid enlistment under the current law, such as studying abroad. There are cases of abuse of legislation for reasons such as employment, etc., so there is a need to raise the age.”
It stated that “therefore by raising the age of exemption for the elderly to 45 years of age, it is to fundamentally prevent abuse of the exemption clause for the elderly through military service postponement so that the sacred duty of national defense can be fulfilled without discrimination.”
By 2021, Korea will have the 7th largest economy globally, with $30,000 GDP per capita. A genuinely advanced country guarantees respect and individual freedom, realizes a democratic society through continuous dialogue and debate, and ensures social participation to achieve true democracy. But now, this bill does not guarantee individual freedom, shows no trace of essential dialogue, and is destroying the dreams and hopes of many overseas Koreans and young people. The reality is that many young people are deprived of employment and academic opportunities abroad due to military service issues. Lawmakers who introduced legislation think about the future of these young people and the Republic of Korea?
According to the 391st National Defence Meeting, it is recorded that the number of young people who have obtained foreign residency and are exempted from Korean military conscription is 5,000 over few years. The state must no longer break the custom of treating them as potential criminals and recognize them as potential national talent.
President Moon: Jae In said, “The role of compatriots with Korean identity is vital” at the 15th Korean Day commemoration ceremony held on October 5th. He also noted that various opinions would be held to strengthen further the bond between the home country and the compatriot society. But now, this bill is far from the President’s remarks. This legislation will destroy the identity of the Korean Furthermore, and the outdated gender conflict will spread beyond the country but all over the world.
I want to ask respected lawmakers who proposed a partial amendment Military Act? What do you want to achieve by raising the age exemption to 45 for foreign ex-pats who want to contribute to the Korean community? This bill will force more people and their families to abandon their countries with future insecurity. As a result, there is considerable concern that more 2nd generation Koreans will lose their sense of identity, adversely affecting the 7.5 million overseas Korean society in the long term. The meeting between the two Koreas in April 2018 showed the world “another Korean peninsula” and informed the whole globe that Korea is no longer the outskirts of Asia. The Republic of Korea is no longer recognized as a warring country. We are leading the economy, culture, and technology, and our overseas compatriots in every corner of the globe are working hard every day in their respective fields. Having lived abroad for a long time, I was inspired to see people living abroad, raising the brand value of the country and leading a progressive life. And seeing people overcoming COVID 19 pandemic wisely these days, I feel proud to be a Korean for the first time in my life. I believe many people abroad probably have the same thoughts as me.
However, this bill is far from the values of the Republic of Korea that I have seen and felt. It will create additional concern and difficulties for young people struggling with finding a job in another country and will only create divisions within the Korean community. More women have entered society and are guaranteed high-quality education and employment in a developed country, and a future is guaranteed. However, driving men who did not complete their military duty as potential criminals to head a permanent residence would only promote another conflict.
Most men in Korea spend a considerable period in their 20s with military service shackles and live troubled lives. In addition, many men living abroad miss the opportunity to work and study and have faced many difficulties as they enter the country with their careers cut off. This problem is a national loss and violates human rights, which is not suitable for those who hold the seventh-largest economy in the world. The time has come for the Republic of Korea to end the anachronistic conscription system and fully return to the youth in their splendid and never-before-seen 20s. Like other developed countries, young people should feel and experience diversity firsthand at a young age, experience advanced culture, and return to their homeland to have a positive impact.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights -Article 13
1) Everyone has the right to freedom and movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country.
According to the Article 13 of the Univeral Declaration of Human Rights
1) Everyone has the right to the freedom to go and live anywhere in his country.
2)It is stated that everyone has the right to leave the country, including his own, and the right to return to his country.
On September 9th, 2021, at the 391st National Assembly Regular Session, Rep Ki Dong-Min of the Democratic Party of Korea said, “In regards to the military service, we should do it punitively, so long as we maintain the conscription system, who would not have performed this. I’m strongly saying ‘they can not enter the Republic of Korea at this time as we have performed this duty. It is a farewell forever”.
These remarks violate the fundamental UN Declaration of Human Rights and break the opinion decided by the UN Human rights Committee in 1987. For any reason, the right to live and reside in the Republic of Korea should be respected as a citizen of the Republic of Korea. The above remarks were anachronistic remarks that could limit the meeting of a family and prevent one person’s precious future.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 14 (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution
2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations
According to Article 14(1) of the 1948 United Nations Declaration as amended, everyone has the right to seek or receive asylum in another country to avoid persecution, and the right to seek asylum in another country if they are persecuted for reasons, race, belief, religion, etc.
About 40 years ago, our President, Kim- Dae Jung, broke up and saved his life through exile in the United States. Former President Kim was sentenced to death for leading the “Kim Dae-Jung interruption Conspiracy Case” at a military court meeting at the Martial Law Command in September 1980. In addition, he was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in January 1981. In response, numerous overseas compatriots, intellectuals, cultural figures, and politicians launched a hole-in-the-wall campaign against him. The military government reduced his sentence to life imprisonment and allowed him to asylum in the United States in December 1982. Former President Kim suffered persecution, being kidnapped and imprisoned as a member of the Democratic Party of Korea because he had different political views from the regime.
In the cases of the Republic of Korea, conscientious objectors are included in the cases of political persecution recorded in the UN Declaration. In France and Canada, there are cases in which Korean nationals were accepted as refugees based on religious and conscientious objection to military service.
Together with us, the Democratic Party, as a party with a 60-year history, has a proud history of protecting human rights, respecting diversity, and valuing life. Also, many party elders suffered a lot from the Park Chung-hee regime and the new military government for political reasons. The Democratic Party of Korea is a party with a precedent in international law and received aid from the United Nations. Now, we must be reborn as an authorized party that can see the distinct future, respect international law, and listens to the rights of minorities.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Article 15
1) Everyone has the right to be a nationality
2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 15 of the 1948 United States Declaration, as amended, states that everyone has the right to claim nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality, and that the right to change one’s nationality shall not be denied.
The above bill is a bill that does not consider the sacred UN Declaration and international law. An anachronistic, contradictory statement fosters division and conflict and leaves many young people frustrated and defeated.
Dear respected lawmakers, The importance of national defense is one of the sensitive topics in South Korea. However, this legislation is very different from President Moon Jae-in’s “People come first.” President Roh Moo Hyun’s “People live in the world,” President Kim Dae Jung, who led the historic and peaceful regime change of the Democratic Party of Korea in 1997, lastly said, “The more you think about life, the more beautiful the history.” I hope that the country will create a beautiful by giving dreams and wishes to future children and 7.5 million overseas Koreans in the future. I request that this bill be withdrawn.
Hyun Woo Jang
Honorary Youth Member of Democratic party
Gender Equality, and Family Committee.
