A soldier in South Korea has been handed a prison sentence for being gay.
A soldier in South Korea has been handed a prison sentence for being gay.
The soldier has received a suspended sentence for a year, after he was convicted for having sex with another male soldier.
According to reports on the Yonhap News Agency, the sex was in a private residence and consensual.
“It is a bizarre clause that only has a perpetrator, without a victim, ” the Center for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK) said in a statement.
“The captain was fulfilling his military duty and was originally scheduled to be discharged in April.
“If he appeals the ruling he will have to stay in the military without knowing when the legal battle will be finished.”
According to reports the army captain was so shocked by the ruling he collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital.
Although same-sex sexual activity is not illegal in the country, the army retains a code of conduct that bans homosexuality, and military service is mandatory.
Under South Korean law a soldier who commits “sodomy” or “other disgraceful conduct” can face up to two years in prison.
It comes after campaigners called for a witch-hunt for gay soldiers to end immediately.
According to MHRCK, General Jang Jun-kyu, army chief of staff in South Korea launched a “track-down process” to find and out suspected gay personnel.
