S.Korea Supreme Court rules against ban on homosexuality

SEOUL — The Supreme Court of South Korea issued a landmark ruling against the military's decades-old ban on homosexual activities on Thursday, striking down a guilty verdict for two male soldiers who were indicted on a charge of having consensual sex while off their base.

South Korea's Military Criminal Act calls for up to two years in prison for anal intercourse or other indecent acts. There was mutual consent or where the conduct took place until soldiers engaged in such activities had been punished under that law. Rights groups have condemned the law, saying it permits a witch hunt against gay soldiers.

The Supreme Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that the law should not apply to consensual sex away from a military setting.

The two accused men, a first lieutenant and a master sergeant, were indicted on charges of breaking the military code after they were found to have had sex in a private house during off-duty hours in 2016. The lieutenant was sentenced to four months in jail and the sergeant was sentenced to three months in jail.