For the fourth time, South Korea's constitutional court has upheld two anti-LGBTQ+ lawsincluding the country's notorious military "sodomy law," The Guardian reported.
By a vote of five to four, the court confirmed the constitutionality of article 92-6 of the military criminal actwhich recommends a maximum prison term of two years for "anal intercourse" and "any other indecent acts" between military personnel, even while on leave and consensual. The ruling happened despite the supreme court's decision to overturn article 92-6 convictions.
One judge in favor of the law said that because there were many men in the military, opportunities for same-sex sexual relations were frequent; as such, the law was supposedly needed to maintain order as well as prevent same-sex sexual assault and the breakdown of military efficiency.
Center for Military Human Rights Korea head Lim Tae-Noon called the decision "absurd, illogical, regressive and driven by prejudice," adding, "While the world has been making progress in abolishing discrimination against minorities over the past 20 years, the minds of the judges have not advanced even a single step."
Andrew Davis