This is a translation of an article from the Huffington Post Korea.
Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons Randy Berry came to South Korea to observe the situation for sexual minorities and has raised discussion on the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not appropriately conveyed the truth as it relates to sexual minorities. The focus brought forward by sexual minority groups to the special envoy was the point that even though a ‘no same-sex activities in the military’ discriminatory article exists, the government is arguing that ‘discriminatory regulations have been removed.’
At a luncheon, Randy Berry met with famous LGBT Koreans, including director Kim Jo Gwang Su, the director of military rights Im Tae hun, and broadcaster Harisu, to discuss how he has heard from the Ministry of Human Affairs that there are no discriminatory articles against LGBT individuals. The participants in the discussion replied that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clearly lied and that there are regulations in military law against same-sex activity.
While envoy Randy Berry’s team did not elaborate on the contents of the meeting, stating “As this is an off-the-record luncheon, I can’t confirm the facts”, Deputy Director of the International Organizations Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jang-geun Lee (이장근) on that day reported that ‘While explaining the government’s position on efforts to promote LGBT rights and anti-discrimination policy, we conveyed the message that in 2013 the army removed discriminatory regulations related to homosexuals.”He continued by clarifying that “While we know that there is a discussion going on between LGBT groups, the position that homosexual discriminatory regulations are no longer in existence is the position of the Ministry of Defense”.
According to the 6th clause of the 92nd article of military law, individuals engaging in anal sex or sexual molestation will be sentences to up to two years of imprisonment. In the 2013 revisions, the term ‘anal sex or sexual molestation’ was replaced with ‘sodomy’ (계간 [鷄姦]), with the regulations for punishment remaining in place. If this article is applied, consensual sexual relations between men could be punished. The National Human Rights Commission has brought up the point that this may be in violation with the constitution. Lawyer Min-hee Ryu of Hope and Law, one of the participants of the luncheon, stated that “In 2011 and 2015, the UN Human Rights Committee passed a resolution to enhance human rights for LGBT individuals, as a member of the UN Korea’s government should feel a sense of responsibility.”
Randy Berry became the first Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons last year in February and works toward preventing discrimination and violence against sexual minorities in other countries and reports to the United States. Berry is out as a homosexual in the public sphere. The visit to Korea is part of Berry’s visit to five countries in Asia including Vietnam and Japan.
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