| [取중眞담]Is a section where full-time reporters take turns writing back stories, secret stories, and episodes in a free manner.[편집자말] |
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| ▲ Sergeant Byun Hee-soo held an emergency press conference on the decision to dismiss the Army at the Military Rights Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of January 22, 2020, appealing for an opportunity to protect the country as an excellent female army. | |
| Ⓒ Kwon Woo-seong |
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“Same-sex marriage is illegal there”
“When I clicked on the link from Soo-yeon, there was an article stating that the Korean army refused to serve as a transgender soldier. Are we on the right track?”
Han Jeong-hyun’s novel <우리의 소원은 과학 소년>In the story, “Mary,” an American transgender man who was designated as “female” at birth, but considers himself “male,” appears. Mary grows up with the love and support of’Sunyoung’, a Korean who became a mother through the remarriage of her father’John’.
In 2020, when he said that he was going to live in Korea with his lover and Korean Soo-yeon, his father, John, did not get angry and said, “(In Korea) same-sex marriage is illegal.” Nevertheless, on the day she decided to move to Korea, Mary heard the news that the army had forced a transgender soldier into war through Soo-yeon’s crying voice.
If Mary in the work is living in Korea now, she may be regretting it. Still, I would have thought it would be a little better if I lived. Just as mother Sunyoung told him, “You are only you. You are not anybody’s daughter,” the Korean society may have expected that the day will come to tell them that way.
However, the reality is that the social barriers that drive and erase sexual minorities, including transgender people, are a continuation of feeling so solid. Three transgender deaths were reported during the month. Lee Eun-yong, Kim Ki-hong queer activist, Byeon Hee-soo. Even unknown transgender people cannot guarantee that they are’living safely’ somewhere. In a society that does not recognize different bodies or identities, minorities die like this.
The army’s neglect and the death of Sergeant Byun
In particular, the death of Sergeant Byun Hee-soo is an obvious’social killing’. On January 22, 2020, Sergeant Byun, who was working in a unit in Gyeonggi Province, judged “Level 3 mental and physical disability” for having undergone a gender correction (gender change) operation, and enforced dismissal. This was a decision that the National Human Rights Commission of Korea disregarded the recommendation that the National Human Rights Commission of Korea should postpone the screenings for three months the previous day, saying that there is a possibility of discrimination.
Sergeant Byun Hee-soo held a press conference on the day the decision was made and appealed to the Army Headquarters by appealing, “Give me an opportunity to become a great woman and protect the country,” but in July of the same year, the Army dismissed this as well. Eventually, an administrative lawsuit had to be initiated for the’revocation of global disposition’.
In December, the NHRCK said that the disposition of Sergeant Byun was unfair, and recommended the Chief of Staff of the Army to cancel the disposition, and the Minister of Defense to reorganize the related system so that there are no cases of excluding soldiers who have undergone sex reassignment surgery. Nevertheless, the Army said, “The entire Sergeant Byeon has gone through a legal administrative procedure,” and stated its position of “not accepting the recommendation.” According to an official from the Military Rights Center, Sergeant Byeon was very sorry for the Army’s attitude of not even saying’I will discuss’.
Despite the death of Sergeant Byeon, the Army has not made an official statement. Even an army official said in a media interview, “There is no separate military position to report the death of a civilian,” and controversy arose. After Sergeant Byeon’s gender correction surgery, the army’s attitude toward him has always been’ignorance’. Sergeant Byun was betrayed by the loyal organization in the most cruel way.
Look at the biden government
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| ▲ Former Army Sergeant Byun Hee-soo (tank Cho Jong-soo), who was forced to take action after sex change surgery, made a statement at a press conference filing an administrative lawsuit to cancel the disposition held at Arumdree Hall of the Participating Regiment in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 11th. | |
| Ⓒ Kwon Woo-seong |
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The problem wasn’t just the army. “The government is responsible for it,” said Mr. Byeon’s attorney, Borami Kim, who was the legal representative of Sergeant Byun’s suit. Attorney Kim pointed out, “If the Ministry of Defense does not move, the president could change the treatment of transgender people in the military even by discussing it at the State Council,” he pointed out that it is very different from the US Biden government.
On January 25, President Biden issued an executive order that “allows all eligible Americans to serve the state by serving in the military.” This is an order prohibiting discrimination against transgender soldiers, and the Secretary of Defense and the Minister of Homeland Security must report progress within 60 days of implementing this order.
“It prohibits involuntary separation, dismissal and re-entry or continuing denial of service based on or related to gender identity (…) In short, transgender soldiers are no longer based on or based on gender identity. It should also be noted that transgender soldiers may serve in the military according to their gender after their gender change has been completed and their gender is changed in the defense recruitment status reporting system, and that transgender soldiers are permitted anywhere in the US military. do.”
According to a White House statement, the fact that “there is no problem due to open transgender service” was proved through a comprehensive study conducted at the request of the Ministry of Defense in 2016, testimony to Congress by major military executives in 2018, and remarks by a former U.S. Medical Officer. have. Based on this, the Biden government declared’no discrimination against transgender people’ while advocating the values of’inclusive power’ and’diversity’.
Attorney Kim said, “The government has to take responsibility for the remaining barbaric forms of systems that make LGBTQ life pessimistic.” I am very disappointed.” The Blue House said that there was no stance on the death of Sergeant Byeon, and the Ministry of Defense said, “I express my condolences for the unfortunate death”, but that was all.
When is the anti-discrimination law?
The National Assembly is also on the lookout. The Democratic Party and the People’s Power (the Future Unified Party) did not even comment at the time of the forced dismissal of Byeon. Last year, there was no question about the forced discharge of Sergeant Byun in the state affairs audit of the Ministry of Defense. The National Assembly, who said to represent the people, could not represent Sergeant Byun’s courage.
Even before the 21st general election, Democratic Party Secretary-General Yoon Ho-jung was criticized for his discriminatory remarks saying, “There is difficulty in alliance with political parties that will cause unnecessary and exhausting debates over LGBT issues.” The party he referred to was the Green Party, where the late activist Kim Ki-hong was a candidate for proportional representation.
In addition, the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Act, which has been’debated only’ in the National Assembly for 14 years, is the’minimum’ that must be enacted to abolish discrimination against LGBTI people. If there was an anti-discrimination law, there would have been a way to get relief, as Byeon’s forced dismissal measures were defined as’obvious discrimination’.
Nevertheless, the National Assembly is silent. Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young’s representative proposal last June is pending, and Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min’s equality law is also not being proposed. Rep. Lee said, “So far, more than 20 people have gathered as promoters, and most of them are members of our party.” The impression that the Democratic Party is hesitant to initiate a proposal cannot be erased against the backlash of the conservative Protestant world.
Democratic party lawmakers such as Park Ju-min, Lee So-young, and Jang Kyung-tae expressed their intentions in commemoration and were sorry. But don’t stop by being sorry. The anti-discrimination law was promoted by the Democratic Party’s government, and it was once the party’s argument. But now, with the overwhelming power of 174 seats, he is turning away. The Democratic Party should come out right now. ‘Right now’, not’later’.
Memorial and optimism
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| ▲ On the 4th, when the news of the death of former Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, who was forced to discharge after undergoing a sex change operation, is located in front of the representative office of the Justice Party in Yeouido, Seoul, a memorial space for former Sergeant Byun is prepared. | |
| Ⓒ Joint coverage photo |
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In this way, through the death of Sergeant Byeon, we witness the disastrous reality of Korean society. A place where everything is excluded if it does not fall under the’normal’ norms of society. A place where discrimination against minorities can be done casually as a public act, a place where the logic of stigma or erasure is stronger instead of diversity and inclusion… we live there.
There is no reason to lose your job just because you live in the gender you want. When Sergeant Byeon made the decision to correct the sex, the troops said they gave him support and encouragement. In addition, his travel abroad for gender correction was reported to the Chief of Staff of the Army. Nevertheless, he became a’civilian’ one morning he didn’t want.
According to BBC reports, there are about 9,000 transgender soldiers around the world. There is no one in Korea. Someone says that Korea is a’advanced country’, but for transgender people and LGBTQ people, it is a country that has to be prepared for’death’.
The aforementioned novel <우리의 소원은 과학 소년>In the story, another story appears in the story. It is a queer narrative of the Japanese colonial period that Sunyoung delivers to Mary. Nurse Anna and the romance novelist Kyung-Jun (Kyung-ah), who was a “male and female”, broke up without being able to love properly in a society at the time when news of suicide by same-sex lovers continued.
However, after that, Anna goes through marriage and divorce, and Gyeong-jun is reunited after suffering damage from the military’comfort women’. Eventually, they head to America in search of “where we can exist.” And on the ship they say “I will remember my name” and “I will be optimistic,” saying little hope for the future.
How can we say’optimism’ to LGBTI people in despair and all citizens who are in solidarity with them? Nevertheless, we have to live together. I want to live. So, I hope that we can speak optimism in Korea, where we live, not in borders or in foreign countries. I sincerely hope that our society will proceed to the process of proving that Sergeant Byun Hee-soo’s life was not wrong and that his courage was precious. Best wishes for the deceased.