South Korea May Allow Gays In Military

We may be soon adding South Korea to the long list of nations that allow gays to serve openly in their military.

Clause No. 92 in the code, established in 1962, stipulates that those who are engaged in “sodomy or other acts of molestation” are to be given a jail sentence of up to one year. The NHRC has been reviewing the constitutionality of the clause, which is currently pending at the Constitutional Court, since May when a civic group, supportive of sexual minorities in the military, filed a petition to the commission. “We have determined that homosexuality does not directly affect military combat power, moral fiber and unity. Criminal punishment according to the penal code infringes on their rights to equality and runs counter to the trend of the times,” the commission said during its committee meeting. “We found that there are no cases overseas in which soldiers were punished for homosexuality. Militaries in Canada, Australia and Israel allow homosexuals to join them even after they came out of the closet.”

Christian groups are, of course, opposed to the change as are some military leaders. The word used to define homosexual acts in the South Korean military is "gyegan," which is a derogatory slang term meaning "sex between chickens."