US prison term counts toward Korean military exemption, court rules

The Seoul court has ruled that a Korean-born man who served 14 years in a U.S. prison for armed robbery is exempt from mandatory military service, extending the exemption to those who have completed their sentences overseas. This decision rejects the Military Manpower Administration's stance that only inmates transferred to Korea to finish their sentences are eligible for exemption.

However, the court imposed a condition to prevent the exemption from being abused for draft evasion. Under the Military Service Act, individuals sentenced to 18 months or more in prison are placed in wartime labor service, which exempts them from peacetime duty and only calls them up for labor support during wartime. The man, who moved to the U.S. as a permanent resident and was deported to Korea after serving his sentence, was deemed eligible for alternative service as a social service agent but sought an exemption.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.