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.
Conscription and sexism
Currently, only nine countries have laws allowing for the conscription of women into their armed forces: China, Eritrea, Israel, Libya, Malaysia, North Korea, Norway, Peru and Taiwan. Other countries—such as Finland, Turkey, Singapore, and South Korea—still use a system of conscription which requires military service from only men, although women are permitted to serve voluntarily. In 2014, Norway became the first NATO country to introduce obligatory military service for women as an act of gender equality. The gender selective draft has been challenged in Switzerland, but the case was rejected by the Federal Supreme Court on the grounds that the specific law requiring service takes precedence over the general law forbidding sex discrimination. Chantal Galladé, former president of the Swiss Defence Committee calls the conscription of men a discrimination against both men and women, cementing the stereotypical gender roles of men and women.