Korea, South

WRI, Amnesty International, Connection e.V. and World Without War are petitioning the South Korean Defence Minister calling upon his government to immediately and unconditionally release all conscientious objectors; recognise conscientious objection as a human right inherent to the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; make appropriate provision for conscientious objectors to military service; and to clear the criminal records and provide compensation for conscientious objectors who have been imprisoned for refusing military service in the past. You can sign it online here and download a paper version here to print out and take along to your events by Monday 16th November 16th, in order to be submitted to the Minister of National Defence on 1 December, Prisoners for Peace day.

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[an international seminar on war profiteering]  Stopping the War Business talking tactics and linking methods
16 - 17 October 2015: Seoul, Republic of Korea

 

Please register here

For antimilitarists, disrupting war profiteering means knocking out the economic pillars that make war inevitable. It goes far beyond the arms trade (although that is an important part of it), and includes all those who fund and profit from war and militarisation.

Disrupting war profiteering takes a whole range of activities, from research, lobbying and legal challenges to mobilisation, direct action and creative campaigning techniques.

This seminar will provide a space for activists using a whole range of different methods to gather together, learn how a spectrum of tactics interlink and help each other to be more effective. It'll answer questions like 'How can we make our direct action more strategic using research? 'How could a public campaign support our lobbying work?' 'What tools or methods can help my campaign be more effective?'

This international seminar Stopping the War Business will be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, 16-17th October. The seminar is jointly coordinated by World Without War in Korea and international antimilitarist network War Resisters' International.

Contact Hannah Brock on +44-20-7278 4040 and hannah@wri-irg.org

Today marks International Conscientious Objection day. Worldwide, 92% of all conscientious objectors imprisoned for refusing obligatory military service are in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). An international campaign is calling for their release and the recognition of the right to conscientious objection everywhere.

An introduction to conscientious objection in Republic of Korea, from World Without War. Download it here.

 

 

War Resisters' International, Amnesty International, Connection e.V. and World Without War are petitioning the South Korean Defence Minister, General Han Min-Koo 한민구, calling upon his government to immediately and unconditionally release all conscientious objectors; recognise conscientious objection as a human right inherent to the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; make appropriate provision for conscientious objectors to military service; and to clear the criminal records and provide compensation for conscientious objectors who have been imprisoned for refusing military service in the past.

Sign it online here and download a paper version here.

On Monday 13th April, groups across the world took action on military spending. The Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) is now in it's fifth year, and WRI affiliates took action to highlight the huge amounts of money that are wasted on military expenditure across the globe.

In Finland, two WRI affiliates came together to display a banner reading "If we had $1.8 trillion, we'd would #movethemoney to education, renewable energy, healthcare" in multiple languages. Members of South Korean group World Without War are currently touring Europe, met with members of AKL (the Union of Conscientious Objectors), and took part in the action.

In recent years, Turkey has repeatedly abused the rights of protesters with the weaponised use of tear gas at demonstrations. But despite human rights concerns, South Korea has authorised a huge shipment of tear gas to Turkey. On 10 February, Ban Tear Gas Initiative (Turkey), Campaign Against Arms Trade (UK), War Resisters' International and World Without War (South Korea) carried out actions in Seoul, Istanbul and London to stop the shipment!

Daekwang Chemical (hereafter DK) is the largest manufacturer of tear gas products in South Korea. DK was founded 2001 and initially its major area of business was sales of fireworks products. Before DK focused on tear gas business, the company’s sales volume was relatively small. Annual sales volume of DK recorded around USD 1 million.

United Nations

CCPR/C/112/D/2179/2012

Distr.: General

14 January 2015

 

Original: English

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The first ever international week of action for military-free education and research was held between 25-31 October 2014. This follows on from a day of action last year. Antimilitarists across the world took action to raise awareness, and challenge, the role the military has in education and research in educational institutions. This role gives them access to young people - to lay the groundwork for recruitment later in life, and to promote military values.

Different groups used the week of action in different ways. Some challenged military presence in schools through direct action, some publicly debated the presence of the military in education, others showed films, wrote articles, and campaigned on social media.

Trigger Warning: descriptions of bullying and torture. Two cases of extreme violence in the conscripted Korean military – one mass shooting and attempted suicide, one death by torture – have drawn public attention to the violence conscripts routinely face in the military, with 120 deaths a year occurring among them for the last five years.

Read more at:

Human Rights Asia News

The Economist

Article in The Broken Rifle No 53, November 2003 as part of the South Korean Prisoners for Peace issue.

Jung-min Choi

Only early in 2001 the concept of "objection to military service" became known to the Korean public. A current affairs magazine reported on a forum on the military service system, including the right to conscientious objection. It especially reported on the history of Jehovah's Witnesses CO. Since the formation of the Korean army, over 10,000 objectors (mostly Jehovah's Witnesses) have spent time behind bars. The public has treeted them as nonexistent.