[Photo] Court recognizes non-religious conscientious objection to reserves training

1

A South Korean court has recognized a man’s non-religious conscientious refusal to take part in army reserves training. As the ruling recognized the right of a non-religious person to conscientiously object to military service, the breadth of conscientious objection that applies to people who refuse military service for moral reasons is expected to be expanded. The defendant, surnamed Kim, has refused reserves training on 10 occasions since November 2016, citing his moral opposition to training that promotes violence. The photo shows demonstrators protesting the Ministry of National Defense’s proposal for alternative service routes for conscientious objectors on Dec. 28, 2018. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)