Seoul, South Korea
A South Korean military woman who was expelled from the army after surgery sex change, was found dead, the agency Presa Yonhap.
The body of Byun Hee-soo was found at home in Cheongju, south of Seoul. Police have opened an investigation.
Byun Hee-soo, a twenty-year-old sergeant, he enlisted voluntarily in the army as a man in 2017, before undergoing surgery in Thailand for a sex change.
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Compared to other Asian countries, South Korea it is deeply conservative on sexual identity issues, and homosexual relationships between the military are likely to be penalized. Transformed into a woman, she communicated to the hierarchy her desire to continue in the army.
In January 2020, a military commission ordered his expulsion from military institution, because the Ministry of Defense considered that the loss of genitals they were a mental and physical problem.
After his expulsion, Byun left anonymity to defend his cause. “I am a military officer of the Republic of Korea,” he said in a shaky voice. He explained that being in the military was a childhood dream, but said he suffered from depression due to “gender dysphoria” or gender identity disorder. Hence your choice to be operated on.
“I want to show everyone that, regardless of my sexual identity, I can be one of the great soldiers defending the country,” he had said. “Please give me this opportunity,” the young woman begged.
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Military service is compulsory in South Korea, where the army is primarily responsible for protecting the territory from the northern threat. Every fit man must serve two years of military service.
Byun was the first South Korean soldier to undergo a sexual identity change operation during his service. International human rights associations have long denounced that consensual sex between two people of the same sex continues to be a crime in the eyes of South Korean military law.
The South Korean military is constantly persecuting soldiers who have homosexual relationships, which can lead to two years in prison and forced labor if convicted by a court-martial.