South Korea's constitutional court on Thursday narrowly upheld a law banning same-sex relations within the armed forces, citing a possible risk to the military's combat readiness in a ruling criticised by activists as a setback for gay rights.
Under the country's military criminal act, members of the armed forces face up to two years in prison for same-sex relationships. The law has been referred to the court and upheld by it four times since 2002.
In Thursday's five-to-four ruling, the court said allowing same-sex relations could undermine discipline within the military and harm its combat capabilities. Rights groups have been urging the court to scrap what they termed an "outdated and bad" law, after the Supreme Court last year overturned a military court's conviction of two soldiers sentenced to suspended prison terms for a consensual same-sex relationship.
South Korea has one of the world's largest active armies, with all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 28 required to serve between 18 and 21 months.Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Thursday he would not invade any nation, in comments aimed at quelling neighbouring countries' concerns that he might use force to secure access to a sea port.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Korea, US and Japan condemn North Korea's alleged supply of munitions to RussiaSouth Korea, the U.S. and Japan have strongly condemned what they call North Korea’s supply of munitions and military equipment to Russia
Read more »
South Korea, US and Japan condemn North Korea's alleged supply of munitions to RussiaSouth Korea, the U.S. and Japan have strongly condemned what they call North Korea’s supply of munitions and military equipment to Russia. A joint statement issued Thursday by the top diplomats of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan said such weapons shipments will sharply increase the human toll of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Read more »
South Korea, US and Japan condemn North Korea's alleged supply of munitions to RussiaSouth Korea, the U.S. and Japan have strongly condemned what they call North Korea’s supply of munitions and military equipment to Russia.
Read more »
South Korea, US and Japan condemn North Korea's alleged supply of munitions to RussiaSouth Korea, the U.S. and Japan have strongly condemned what they call North Korea’s supply of munitions and military equipment to Russia.
Read more »
South Korea, US and Japan Condemn North Korea's Alleged Supply of Munitions to RussiaSouth Korea, the U.S. and Japan strongly condemned what they call North Korea's supply of munitions and military equipment to Russia, saying Thursday that such weapons shipments sharply increase the human toll of Russia's war in Ukraine.A joint statement by the top...
Read more »
A year after deadly South Korean crush, families fight for accountabilityOne year after Park Young-soo lost her only son in a Halloween weekend crowd crush that killed 159 people in the South Korean capital, she still can’t bring herself to open the door to his room.
Read more »