A transgender South Korean soldier who was forcibly discharged from the army after gender reassignment surgery has been found dead, police said yesterday, prompting anger and calls for legal reform.
Firefighters found Byun Hee-soo in her home in Cheongju after a mental health counselor called emergency services to report that she had not been heard from for several days, Yonhap news agency reported.
South Korea remains deeply conservative about matters of sexual identity and is less tolerant of LGBTQ rights than some other parts of Asia, with many gay and transgender South Koreans living largely under the radar.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In her 20s, Byun voluntarily enlisted in 2017. She went on to have gender reassignment surgery in Thailand in 2019.
Formerly a staff sergeant, Byan was last year compulsorily discharged by a military panel, after the South Korean Ministry of National Defense classified the removal of her male genitals as a mental or physical handicap.
At the time, she waived her anonymity to appear at a news conference to plead to be allowed to serve, wearing her fatigues, and saluting the gathered journalists and cameras.
“I’m a soldier of the Republic of Korea,” she said, her voice breaking.
Police confirmed her death, saying that they were investigating.
Reports said that no note was found, but the death was being treated as suicide, with Yonhap citing officials as saying that she had tried to kill herself three months ago.
Byun’s death triggered an outpouring of grief and calls for South Korean lawmakers to pass an anti-discrimination bill.
“The whole of South Korean society bears responsibility for her death,” said a poster on Daum, the country’s second-largest Internet portal. “Those who ridiculed her and made malicious online comments because she was transgender, I want you to reflect on what you did to her.”
South Korea has a conscript army to defend itself against North Korea, with all able-bodied male citizens required to serve for nearly two years.
However, Byun was a volunteer non-commissioned officer and said at her news conference last year that serving in the military had been her childhood dream.
“Putting aside my sexual identity, I want to show everyone that I can be one of the great soldiers,” she said, fighting back tears. “Please give me that chance.”
Her case was the first of its kind in South Korea.
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