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| Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, the country's first transgender soldier, salutes at a press conference criticizing her involuntary discharge from service at the Military Human Rights Center in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap |
By Lee Suh-yoon
The nation's first transgender soldier was involuntarily discharged from the army, Wednesday, in a decision that once again set back LGBT rights in the country's armed forces.
The army's special review committee discharged Byun Hee-soo, a sergeant who undertook a sex change operation in November, saying her new "physical disability" ― the loss of male genitalia from the operation ― disqualified her from military service.
"According to the Military Personnel Management Act and relevant laws, the soldier's case warrants a discontinuation of military service," the army said in a statement. "The committee's decision was based on (the soldier's) results for the mandatory physical check-up and proper legal procedure. The decision has nothing to do with (the soldier's) application to switch gender or other personal reasons."
Transgender people are banned from serving in the armed forces here but there are no specific regulations governing active-duty soldiers who undergo sex reassignment surgery. Losing one's male genitalia, however, is included in the list of "physical and mental disabilities" specified by the Military Personnel Management Act. This allowed military officials to refer the soldier for a discharge evaluation based on the army's disability standard.
Sergeant Byun wanted to continue serving as a female NCO. She plans to appeal the decision and take legal steps as needed.
"It was my childhood dream to become a soldier who can protect her country," she said in a tearful press conference in Seoul where she revealed her identity to the public. The army headquarters has ordered her to leave by Thursday. "They did not even give me time to say a last goodbye to my unit members and leaders."
Byun started taking hormone therapy in April 2018 after being hospitalized for depression caused by her gender dysphoria. She came out to her unit superiors just before being discharged from the military hospital last August where she had been treated.
Her unit members and superiors were supportive about her transition, Byun said. Her condition and plans to undertake the sex change operation were reported all the way up the chain of command. She never got an official notice from the headquarters informing her she would have to trade her military uniform for the sex change operation. The army also authorized her trip to Thailand for "medical purposes," according to an official travel consent form Byun showed reporters.
The Seoul-based Military Human Rights Center, the NGO that has been advising Byun through her transition, also condemned the decision.
"Byun is being chased out of the army just because she no longer has male genitalia," Im Tae-hoon, head of the center, said. "We are mortified by how the military (administration) is preaching regulations while classifying the lack of male genitalia on a male-to-female transgender person as a 'physical disability.'"
Im also accused some military officials of leaking "unverified information" alleging female soldiers were uncomfortable with accepting a male-to-female transgender person into their ranks.
Earlier this week, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) called on military officials to delay the panel decision, suspecting it was likely the soldier would be discharged under current regulations.
Sexual minorities have long been shunned or discriminated against in the Korean army. Sex between gay partners in the army is a punishable crime under Article 92-6 of the Army Criminal Act. This led to alleged witch hunts against gay soldiers by military prosecutors a few years ago, according to testimonies collected by the Military Human Rights Center.
"I would like all LGBT soldiers, including myself, to be able to perform their duties in an environment free of discrimination," Byun said. "And I want to be the first great example of that."
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