Issue 21. Conscientious Objection 96. In June 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that Article 5 of the Military Service Act, which did not provide for an alternative service system, was unconstitutional. As a consequence, the Act on the Assignment to and Performance of Alternative Service was enacted for conscientious objectors and came into effect in January 2020. However, the current alternative service system sets the service period at 36 months which is excessively long,98 compared to active duty service.99 The areas of alternative service are also limited to correctional facilities such as prisons and detention centers. 97. A number of alternative service members filed complaints with the NHRCK, alleging human rights violations in the current alternative service system. With regard to the complaints, the NHRCK concluded that the Ministry of Defense’s failure to adjust the service period for alternative service personnel, despite the shortening of the service period for personnel in active duty service, constituted a violation of the right to equality by discriminating against alternative service personnel performing the same military duties under the Constitution.100 The NHRCK also deemed it difficult to recognize the rationality of limiting the scope of alternative service to the correctional facilities, and therefore it viewed that the Government should consider areas with high levels of service difficulty and social needs, such as social welfare, firefighting, medical care, disaster prevention, and relief. Therefore, the NHRCK recommended to the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Justice, in April 2023, to shorten the service period for alternative service personnel by up to six months and introduce various alternative service areas other than correctional facilities. 98. During the 4th cycle of Universal Period Review in January 2023, a number of UN member States addressed problems with the scope and period of the current alternative service system and recommended that Korea should implement a non-punitive, nondiscriminatory, and civilian-led alternative service system.101 However, the Government expressed at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in July 2023 that it would not adopt the recommendation. 99. Proposed recommendation: The State party should diversify the areas of alternative service for conscientious objectors and shorten the service period of alternative service personnel, considering equity with that of active duty soldiers.102 Issue 22. Freedom of Expression 100. Social criticism has been raised about defamation lawsuits filed by perpetrators against victims of sexual violence who have disclosed their experiences of sexual abuses to others, out of concern that such lawsuits will re-victimize or silence the victims. There is an ongoing call for the decriminalization of defamation and the establishment of alternatives, given that 22