삶은 여행

Political Prisoners and Detainees

The MOJ stated that no persons were incarcerated solely because of their political beliefs. The NGO Mingahyup claimed that as of August, the government had imprisoned 129 persons for their political beliefs.
In April a riot police conscript was sentenced to two years in prison for refusing to return to duty. He had ignored orders from his superiors to use violence against protesters during the 2008 beef protests.
The country requires military service for all men, although mandatory service periods vary: 24 months for the army, 26 months for the navy, and 27 months for the air force. The law does not protect conscientious objectors, who can receive a maximum three-year prison sentence. The MOJ has noted that the law does not distinguish conscientious objectors from others who do not report for mandatory military service. The MOJ reported that there were 5,136 cases of Military Service Act violations, with 750 cases referred for trial and 2,123 cases settled out of court.
Watchtower International, a Jehovah's Witness organization that is actively engaged in lobbying the government on this issue, reported that as of April 1, there were 465 Jehovah's Witnesses and a handful of others serving an average of 14 months in prison for conscientious objection to military service.
During the year the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced that it would not pursue the introduction of alternative service for conscientious objectors. The ministry cited a lack of public support as the primary reason for its decision; an MND-sponsored poll found that 68 percent of the respondents opposed instituting alternative service, but an independent poll taken about the same time found that only 39 percent were opposed. Meanwhile, the Jehovah's Witnesses reported that courts increasingly were sympathetic to conscientious objectors. In September 2008 a district court asked the Constitutional Court to review again the constitutionality of the Conscription Law. The request remained pending approval. The court ruled in 2002 and 2004 that the law is constitutional.

중간에 이길준 케이스에 대한 서술인 것 같긴 한데, 이길준이 2년 선고 받은 게 4월이었는지는 잘 모르겠다. 이럴 때 그 정보의 출처가 궁금해지는게지.