'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
South Korea's military said Thursday it will appeal a landmark court ruling that struck down its decision to discharge the country's first known transgender soldier before she was found dead earlier this year.
A district court ruled this month that the military unlawfully discriminated against the soldier by forcing her out last year for undergoing gender reassignment surgery.
The Defense Ministry said it respects the verdict but has decided to let the army appeal. Ministry officials said they asked the Justice Ministry to approve the filing, a process required by law.
In response to questions by The Associated Press, the Justice Ministry said it'll make a decision on the appeal request soon after reviewing major legal issues and other aspects of the case.
An appeal could draw strong protests from human rights groups, which have been urging the military to accept the verdict and work out measures to guarantee service for sexual minorities.
"The government may appeal, but our position is that they must not do so because that's the attitude the government must have in the democratic society," said activist Cho Kyu-suk with the Center for Military Human Rights Korea.
Cho called the appeal a delaying tactic because the military worries about a possible backlash from conservatives while having no policy on transgender soldiers.
South Korea prohibits transgender people from joining the military but has no specific laws on what to do with those who have sex change operations during their time in service.
When the army discharged Byun Hui-su in January last year, it cited a law provision allowing it to dismiss personnel with physical or mental disabilities if those weren't a result of combat or suffered in the line of duty.
In its Oct. 7 ruling, the Daejeon District Court ruled against the discharge, saying that Byun had already informed the army that she had registered her request to change her legal status as a woman with another local court.
Her request for a legal gender change was approved less than a month after her discharge.
Defense Minister Suh Wook told lawmakers Thursday that a decision on allowing transgender people in the military must come after reviewing whether there's a public consensus and how it would affect military morale.
He earlier said the army considered Byun as a male soldier when it discharged her.
Byun was found dead at her home in March at age 23. Before her discharge, Byun, a staff sergeant, told reporters that she wanted to serve as a female soldier near the tense border with North Korea.
Under conscription aimed at deterring aggression from North Korea, all able-bodied men in South Korea must serve 18-21 months in the military. Byun voluntarily joined as a non-commissioned officer to become a professional soldier.
Public views on gender issues in South Korea have gradually changed in recent years. However, a strong bias against sexual minorities still runs deep.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.