Conscription in South Korea
Conscription in South Korea has existed since 1957 and requires male citizens between the ages of 18 and 28 to perform in the army compulsory military service. Women are not required to perform military service, but may voluntarily enlist.
Human rights in South Korea
Military service is mandatory for nearly all South Korean men. According to Amnesty International, there were 758 conscientious objectors (mostly Jehovah’s Witnesses) detained for refusing to perform their military service as of June 2004.
Through much of modern South Korean history, the military was largely cushioned from public scrutiny, resulting in decades of abuse and inhumane treatment among military personnel. Since 1993, the public has vocally deplored the human rights violations taking place within the military, such as extreme hazing. In 1997, the government enacted legislation protecting the legal and human rights of soldiers serving in the military by approving a bill that bans physical, verbal, or sexual abuse among soldiers.
In one incident an Army captain was arrested on charges of maltreating trainees, after allegedly forcing 192 conscripts to eat faeces. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea launched a probe into the case since it infringed on human rights.