Netizens have attacked the Korea Military Academy after the it expelled a cadet for having sex with his fiancee while on leave. Although the school claimed the cadet violated the code of conduct, after the cadet appealed the decision to the Seoul Superior Court, judges overturned the expulsion, saying that the school had overstepped its authority and could “infringe on basic human rights”.
The elite KMA has been at the center of controversy over cadet sexual behavior before, including accusations of the school covering up sexual assault of a junior female cadet. While Korean soldiers are held to a higher standard of behavior than civilians, online comments still found the Academy’s intrusion on a cadet’s sex life to be unfair.
Article from Yonhap News:
The Korea Military Academy (KMA) expressed its intention to appeal the ruling.
A Seoul high court delivered a verdict against South Korea’s elite military academy, which expelled a male cadet for his sexual relations with his fiancee while on weekend leave.
In its ruling on the lawsuit that the expelled cadet filed against the Korea Military Academy (KMA), on January 1st, 2014, the Seoul Superior Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that ordered the cancellation of the expulsion.
The high court said in its verdict, “Sexual relations belong to the most intimate part of personal life, and it is hard to view such a relationship as detrimental to sexual discipline in the academy and as pernicious for social morals in general. The expulsion is an abuse of power and exceeds the school’s authority.”
The verdict added, “The code of conduct banning sexual encounters should be interpreted as prohibiting sexual acts breaching moral boundaries. An excessive application of that rule could infringe upon basic human rights.”
Cadet A faced expulsion from the military school for not revealing his sexual relations with his fiancee in November 2012, just one semester before his commission as a first lieutenant.
IN May 2013, A lodged a lawsuit against what he saw as the unfair punishment. He had recently received a notice of military conscription at the rank of private.
[Note: An expelled cadet has to serve mandatory military service at the rank of private like other able-bodied Korean men do. However, expelled cadets can serve a shorter period of military service as their time spent training at the KMA counts for their mandatory 21-month term. The obligatory service is imposed only on men, so if an expelled student is female, she is not required to fulfill a mandatory military service requirement.]
Previously, a lower court instructed the military school to reverse its expulsion in favor of planitiff A.
The military school said after the latest verdict, “We see A’s conduct as a violation of the obligation to maintain decent behavior, thus making the expulsion legitimate. We will seek an appeal against the high court’s ruling.”
Comments from Nate:
kose****:
In an adultery case, an adulterer is found guilty when there is material evidence, like a condom at the scene of an extramarital affair. Does it make sense that the cadet who was seen to enter a studio apartment with his girlfriend got expelled? No wonder the court found the expulsion to be illegal. [Note: Adultery is a crime in South Korea. Adulterers are typically punished with a suspended sentence when a spouse files a lawsuit that includes concrete evidence, an action which normally leads to divorce. In the KMA expulsion case, the cadet is reported to have been dismissed by the school after the filing of an anonymous report about the cadet’s entering an apartment with his girlfriend.]
carl****:
Keep tabs on military generals rather than finding fault with cadets.
ilpa****:
Even if he is reinstated, he will find it hard to get promoted within the military.
qere****:
Does this mean the KMA should only recruit eunuchs?
김승환:
Wouldn’t it be better to punish soldiers who go to brothels when on leave?
In another high profile incident that saw the military associated with soldier’s private lives, Korean celebrities, alleged to be the celebrities Seven and Sangchu, were caught entering a massage parlor in 2013.
이철규:
The KMA is now turning its cadets into monks.
Comments from Daum:
DoctorK:
The KMA is so out of touch
한동네:
What is more surprising is that the academy figured out it even though the cadet didn’t talk about his sex life.
안동균:
If the same argument applies, the KMA should dismiss officers who get married after getting their girlfriend pregnant before marriage. The expulsion doesn’t make any sense.
애너킨:
Is the KMA a monastery now?
우기다:
Are they crazy? The cadet didn’t rape, he just had sex with his fiancee on leave, why did the school find fault with that? If that behavior is problematic, we shouldn’t have any officers left in our military.
faya:
I think the school authority must be working really hard..They even keep a close watch on cadets’ genitals..
