South Korea's first transgender soldier wants to continue serving in the military after she was discharged involuntarily from the military.
Sergeant Byun Hui Soo stated that she wanted to continue serving but was denied, even when she stated that it was her dream to be in the military.
Back in November 2019, Byun Hui Soo traveled to Thailand to have sex reassignment surgery due to depression over her sexual identity. On January 23, the South Korean military decided to discharge her involuntarily from her duties.
South Korean law prohibits transgender people from joining the military but there is no law on a person who has sex reassignment surgery during their service. The South Korean military cited a rule on military discharge for people with physical or mental disabilities if those problems didn't occur in the line of duty. Many are considering it an act of discrimination as South Korea's military code dictates that removing one's genitals is an indication of physical or mental imbalance.
Byun Hui Soo stated that she had the top score for her tank driving skills among her battalion.
She plans to fight the ruling and file litigation.
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Korea has a lot to evolve on the LGBTQ + issue.
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