Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

South Korea: Appeal court victory for conscientious objectors

Further COs in prison – Rule of Constitutional Court expected

(18.10.2016) The South Korean government must take heed of a major appeal court ruling and stop criminalizing conscientious objectors, said Amnesty International today.

Appeal court judges in Gwangju, south-west Korea, overturned the guilty verdicts of two conscientious objectors, Cho Rak-hoon and Kim Hyung-geun. It is the first time an appeal court has reversed guilty verdicts in a conscientious objectors case.

South Korea: More than 8,000 signatures presented for the human right of conscientious objection

(01.12.2015) In a joint action War Resisters’ International, Connection e.V. (Germany), Amnesty International Korea and World Without War (South Korea) today presented more than 8,000 signatures from 108 countries, including members of parliaments from Germany, European Union and South Korea, to the ministry of defense in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The organizations demand the recognition of conscientious objection and the immediate and unconditional release of conscientious objectors in prison.

South Korea: More than 8,000 signatures presented for the human right of conscientious objection

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(01.12.2015) In a joint action War Resisters’ International, Connection e.V. (Germany), Amnesty International Korea and World Without War (South Korea) today presented more than 8,000 signatures from 108 countries, including members of parliaments from Germany, European Union and South Korea, to the ministry of defense in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The organizations demand the recognition of conscientious objection and the immediate and unconditional release of conscientious objectors in prison.

South Korea: The Power of International Solidarity

(29.08.2014) It was the result of solidarity efforts between activists at home and abroad that the conscientious objection movement in this ultra-militaristic South Korean society began. In 2000 Karin Lee and John Feffer, who were staff members at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) office in Tokyo and who had been working with many South Korean civic groups, recognised that movements against the Korean military, militarism, conscription system, and other related institutions in Korea were not very active. In July of the same year, Taiwan introduced an alternative military service system. When Karin and John heard this news, they thought that it might be time for South Korea to begin discussing these topics more openly and widely as the circumstances in both Taiwan and South Korea were quite similar with respect to military confrontation, economic growth, and geographical location.