A defendant shall be punished by imprisonment for one and half years.

Punishment of the crime

The defendant is a religious organization believers who is subject to enlistment in active duty service.

On October 31, 2013, at around 15:30 on October 31, 2013, the Defendant received a notice of enlistment in active duty service under the name of the director of the Seoul Regional Military Manpower Office to enlistment in the 102 supplementary unit located in the Yongsan-gu Seoul Metropolitan City, Yongsan-gu, Incheon Metropolitan Government on December 17, 2013, and did not enlist without justifiable grounds even after three days have elapsed from the date of enlistment.

Summary of Evidence

1. Partial statement of the defendant;

1. A written accusation;

1. Notice of enlistment in active duty service;

1. Application of domestic Acts and subordinate statutes for registration;

1. As to the Defendant’s assertion on criminal facts under Article 88(1)1 of the pertinent Act, the Defendant asserts that there exists “justifiable cause” under Article 88(1) of the Military Service Act, as the believers of “B religious organizations” refused enlistment according to religious doctrine and conscience.

The Constitutional Court made a decision that Article 88(1) of the Military Service Act, which is a provision punishing the act of evading enlistment, does not violate the Constitution (see, e.g., Constitutional Court Order 2008Hun-Ga22, Aug. 30, 201). The conscientious objection based on conscience does not constitute “justifiable cause” as provided for the exception of punishment under the above provision, and even from the provision of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Republic of Korea is a member, the right to exempt conscientious objectors from the application of the above provision of the Military Service Act is not derived, and the United Nations Commission on the ICCPR proposed recommendations.

Even if this does not have any legal binding force (see, e.g., Supreme Court en banc Decision 2004Do2965, Jul. 15, 2004; Supreme Court Decision 2007Do8187, Nov. 29, 2007; Supreme Court Decision 2013Do13198, Mar. 13, 2014). Accordingly, Defendant’s assertion is rejected.

The reason for sentencing is that the defendant refuses to enlist in the military according to his religious belief as a first offender, and the need has been raised several times.