Transgender soldier begs to stay in South Korean army
A TRANSGENDER South Korean soldier who enlisted as a man and underwent gender reassignment last year pleaded tearfully to be allowed to stay in uniform yesterday after the military decided to discharge her.
The country remains deeply conservative about matters of gender identity and is less tolerant of LGBT rights than some other parts of Asia, with many gay and transgender Koreans living largely under the radar.
Byun Hee-soo, a staff sergeant in her 20s, enlisted voluntarily in 2017 and had gender-reassignment surgery in November in Thailand.
She had expressed her desire to remain in the army but a military panel ruled yesterday that she would be compulsorily discharged.
Sgt Byun waived her previous anonymity to appear at a press conference, wearing her fatigues and saluting the gathered journalists and cameras.
“I’m a soldier of the Republic of Korea,” she said, her voice quavering.
Serving in the military had always been her childhood dream, she said, but she had suffered from depression due to gender dysphoria, prompting her to undergo the sex-change surgery.
“Putting aside my sexual identity, I want to show everyone that I can be one of the great soldiers defending this country,” said Sgt Byun, fighting back tears. “Please give me that chance.”
South Korea has a conscript army to defend itself against the nuclear-armed North, with able-bodied male citizens obliged to serve for nearly two years.
A defence ministry spokesman said Sgt Byun had undergone tests at a military
‘I want to show that I can be one of the great soldiers defending this country. Please give me that chance’
hospital, which classified the loss of male genitals as a mental or physical handicap, and prompted the review.
Her case “corresponded to one of the reasons for being unable to continue service”, the army said, without giving specifics, adding that it sought to avoid “unfair discrimination and treatment”.
The Military Human Rights Centre for Korea, an advocacy group in Seoul, said the army had ordered Sgt Byun effectively to be discharged when she was due to leave hospital on Thursday.
“It shows the military’s determination not to allow a transgender in the army, even for one second,” said Lim Tae-hoon, the organisation’s head. “It is truly cruel.”