Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

South Korea: Conscientious objector sentenced to prison

(18.07.2018) A South Korean conscientious objector was sentenced to a jail term Tuesday, despite the recent Constitutional Court order for the government to introduce civilian forms of service for them.
Seoul Western District Court ruled Tuesday that the man, surnamed Oh, must serve 18 months in prison for not complying with the country’s mandatory military service. Oh, 30, says that his political beliefs go against serving in the armed forces.

South Korea: Freedom for the conscientious objectors!

Gallery to the International Day of Conscientious Objection

(15.05.2018) To the International Day of Conscientious Objection balloons were rising up in front of the South Korean embassy in Berlin. For every conscientious objector in jail one balloon was set to freedom symbolically. With this activists from about ten organizations were urging the South Korean government to set free about 300 conscientious objectors who are in prison. The vigil was organized by Arbeitskreis Internationalismus IG Metall, Ausschuss für die Partnerschaft der Ev. Kirche in Hessen und Nassau (EKHN) mit der Presbyterianischen Kirche in der Republik Korea (PROK), Propstei GwangJu, Connection e.V., Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft – Vereinigte KriegsdienstgegnerInnen (DFG-VK) Berlin-Brandenburg, Deutsche Ostasien Mission (DOAM), Europäisches Büro für Kriegsdienstverweigerung (EBCO), Ev. Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Kriegsdienstverweigerer für Frieden (EAK), International Peace Bureau (IPB), Internationale der Kriegsdienstgegner*innen (IDK), Korea Verband, Mennonitisches Friedenszentrum Berlin. We thank for the support of Ev. Mission in Solidarität.

South Korea: Appeal court victory for conscientious objectors

Further COs in prison – Rule of Constitutional Court expected

(18.10.2016) The South Korean government must take heed of a major appeal court ruling and stop criminalizing conscientious objectors, said Amnesty International today.

Appeal court judges in Gwangju, south-west Korea, overturned the guilty verdicts of two conscientious objectors, Cho Rak-hoon and Kim Hyung-geun. It is the first time an appeal court has reversed guilty verdicts in a conscientious objectors case.

South Korea: More than 8,000 signatures presented for the human right of conscientious objection

(01.12.2015) In a joint action War Resisters’ International, Connection e.V. (Germany), Amnesty International Korea and World Without War (South Korea) today presented more than 8,000 signatures from 108 countries, including members of parliaments from Germany, European Union and South Korea, to the ministry of defense in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The organizations demand the recognition of conscientious objection and the immediate and unconditional release of conscientious objectors in prison.