does not cause any harm to ‘establishing discipline, preserving military combat power, and
protecting soldiers’ right to sexual self-determination.’ According to many preceding
studies, it is difficult to find evidence that not stipulating punishment for homosexual
behavior harms combat power or unit unity.439)
Third, although this provision appears to be a neutral criterion for all groups, it is a
so-called ‘indirect discrimination’440) that results in unfavorable consequences for a
discriminated victim group (homosexuals) with certain personal attributes, and in reality it is
applied as discrimination based on sexual orientation. In the case of sexual contact between
soldiers of the opposite sex, it is difficult for other people or investigative agencies to know
whether there was “anal sex or other similar acts,” unless the person involved confessed.
However, among homosexuals, anal sex is the most common sexual act, and if a same-sex
military couple frequently visits private locations, it is immediately suspected that there was
‘anal sex or other similar acts’ and can easily become a target for investigation.
C) The Need to Abolish Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act
The international human rights organizations, including the UN Human Rights
Commission (2015), the UN Commission against Torture (2017), the UN Commission on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2017), and the 3rd UPR of Korea (2017), have
expressed concern about punishing consensual sexual activities between men in the military
pursuant to Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act, and recommended its repeal.
Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Law, which was created following the US military
law immediately after World War I, is a judicial system that has already been abolished in
the US. Previously, the US military had adhered to a non-disclosure policy of ‘don’t ask,
don’t tell’ about homosexuality, but in 2009, the policy was abolished and all sexual
439) As a result of an analysis of the case of the Canadian military, which banned discrimination in military service for
homosexuals in 1992, the anti-discrimination measure does not affect military power, military readiness, unity, and
military discipline. Also, as a result of a study of the situation in the Israeli army, which banned discrimination
against homosexuals in military service in 1993, there is also data analyzing that there is no difference in combat
power before and after 1993 (Do, Jung-jin, A report on the crime of indecent acts under the Military Criminal Act,
Criminology and Justice Studies, Vol. 26, No. 3, Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice, Sep. 2015).
440) Indirect discrimination refers to cases where same neutral standards are applied to all groups, but some groups end
up being treated unequally due to social stereotypes or de facto differences, and such unequal treatments cannot
be rationalized or justified.
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