[Photo] Court upholds exclusion of conscientious objectors’ personal information

The Second Division of the Seoul Administrative court ruled on Dec. 19 that it would uphold a petition by 252 conscientious objectors to exclude their personal information from a report put out by the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) containing a list of people who avoided conscription. Last December, the MMA announced plans to publically disclose the personal information of those people who had avoided service in the country’s military. “The court affirmed that releasing the personal information of conscientious objectors who have been found guilty in the first phase of a trial could cause great damage to these individuals,” said Kim Jin-woo, a lawyer who represented the plaintiffs. “The MMA needs to closely consider the difference between conscientious objectors and those people who are just avoiding service,” he added. (by Kim Tae-hyung, staff photographer)