South Korea’s Supreme Court overturned the convictions of two soldiers who had been charged with having consensual sex while off their base.
The landmark ruling, which was issued on 21 April, stated that the country’s decades-old ban on homosexual activities should not apply to gay sex outside of a military setting.
The Military Criminal Act states that those engaging in “anal intercourse or other indecent acts” should face up to two years in prison, which has previously been used to punish military personnel engaging in consensual gay sex.
The two defendants, a first lieutenant and a master sergeant from different units, were found to have had sex in a private house in 2016 at a time when they were not working.