South Korea upholds ban on gay sex in armed forces

Under South Korea's military crime law, members of the armed forces face up to two years in prison for same-sex relations. The law has been challenged in court and upheld four times since 2002.

In Thursday's ruling, the court said allowing same-sex relationships could undermine discipline in the military and harm its fighting ability.

Human rights groups have called on the court to scrap what they called “outdated and deplorable” rulings, after the Supreme Court last year overturned court-martial convictions of two soldiers given suspended prison sentences for consensual same-sex relations.

South Korea has one of the world's largest active-duty militaries, with all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 28 required to serve for 18 to 21 months.

Trung Kien (according to Reuters)