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Document #2111957
USDOS – US Department of State (Author)
The constitution provides for religious freedom and prohibits discrimination based on religion. The constitution mandates separation of religion and state. The law requires 18 to 21 months of active military service for virtually all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 40, followed by reserve duty training. The law allows conscientious objectors to fulfill their service requirement by working as government employees for 36 months at correctional facilities.
The government continued to accept applications for conscientious objectors to military service to fulfill their mandatory duties through alternative service. Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders said the three-year length of alternative service seemed punitive compared to the shorter period of 18 to 21 months for military service and was contrary to international standards. Jehovah’s Witnesses stated that one member of their organization was imprisoned for conscientious objection to military service. An additional three conscientious objectors who refused both military service and alternative service were awaiting trial. As of September, alternative service personnel had filed 125 complaints with the Constitutional Court over the alleged punitive nature of alternative service, according to Jehovah’s Witnesses representatives.
Residents in Daegu continued to oppose the building of a mosque. In April, protestors briefly blocked the site. Media outlets reported that construction of the mosque, for which ground was broken in December 2020, resumed in July. In March, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) issued a statement characterizing a December 2022 protest in which residents barbecued pork near the mosque as a form of hate speech.
Embassy representatives engaged the government – including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST), and Ministry of National Defense – on religious freedom and tolerance issues. An embassy official met with Jehovah’s Witnesses representatives on several occasions to discuss the country’s alternative service system. Embassy officials also spoke regularly with religious and spiritual groups, including Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslim, Jewish, Falun Dafa, and other communities, to understand issues important to those groups and to underscore the U.S. commitment to freedom of religion or belief. The embassy used social media platforms to highlight diversity of belief and respect for religious freedom.
The U.S. government estimates the total population at 51.9 million (mid-year 2023). According to a 2015 census conducted by the Korea Statistical Information Service, of the 44 percent of the population espousing a religion, 45 percent are Protestant, 35 percent Buddhist, 18 percent Roman Catholic, and 2 percent “other,” including adherents of Won Buddhism, Confucianism, Jeongsando, Cheondogyo, Daejonggyo, Daesun Jinrihoe, and Islam. The census counts members of Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church of Jesus Christ), the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification Church) as Protestants. According to one of the two rabbis in the country, there is a small Jewish population of approximately 1,000, of whom almost all are expatriates. The Korean Muslim Federation estimates the Muslim population at 150,000, of which approximately 120,000 are migrant workers, mainly from Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan, and 30,000 are expatriate students and businesspeople.
The constitution states all citizens have freedom of religion and that there shall be no discrimination in political, economic, social, or cultural life on the basis of religion. Freedoms provided for in the constitution may be restricted by law when necessary for national security, law and order, or public welfare, but restrictions may not violate the “essential aspect” of the freedoms. The constitution mandates separation of religion and state.
According to regulation, a religious group that has property valued at more than 300 million won ($231,000) may become a government-recognized religious organization by publishing its internal regulations defining the group’s purpose and activities, its meeting minutes of the group’s first gathering, and a list of executives and employees.
To obtain tax benefits, including exemption from acquisition or registration taxes when purchasing or selling property to be used for religious purposes, organizations must submit to the local government their registration as a religious and nonprofit corporate body, an application for local tax exemption, and a contract showing the acquisition or sale of property. All clergy are taxed on earned yearly income, but clergy are exempt from taxation on education, food, transportation, and childcare expenses. Individual laypersons are eligible for income tax deductions for contributions to religious organizations upon submission of receipts for the donations.
The law requires 18 to 21 months of active military service for virtually all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 40, followed by reserve duty training. The law allows conscientious objectors to fulfill their service requirement by working as government employees for 36 months at correctional facilities. Alternative service jobs may involve food service, education, sanitation, and facilities management. Those who refuse to fulfill military service or alternative service face up to three years’ imprisonment.
Following military service, there is an eight-year reserve duty obligation involving several exercises per year. Conscientious objectors may fulfill their reserve duties in correctional facilities, with an obligation to work for four days each year for six years. Failure to perform reserve duties or alternative service carries fines and possible imprisonment of up to one year for reserve duties or three years for alternate service. The fines vary depending on jurisdiction but typically average 200,000 won ($150) for the first conviction and increase for each subsequent violation, up to a maximum of two million won ($1,500) per conviction. Civilian courts have the option, in lieu of levying fines, to sentence individuals deemed to be habitual offenders to prison terms or suspended prison terms that range from one day to three years.
The government does not permit religious instruction in public schools. Private schools and religious schools are free to conduct religious activities and instruction. High school students at these schools may opt out of religious instruction, choosing to take ethics or civics courses instead.
The law provides government subsidies for the preservation and upkeep of historic cultural properties, including religious sites.
The NHRCK, an independent agency whose 11 commissioners are appointed by the president, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the National Assembly, but which does not report to the government, investigates complaints, issues policy recommendations, trains local officials, and conducts public awareness campaigns pertaining to human rights, including religious freedom. The NHRCK may make nonbinding recommendations but does not have authority to implement policies or penalize individuals or entities that violate human rights.
The law on refugees contains a nonrefoulement obligation, under which the government shall not forcibly return asylum seekers, including those seeking asylum for religious persecution, whose applications and appeals are pending judicial review.
The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The government continued to accept applications for conscientious objectors to military service to fulfill their mandatory duties through alternative service. Most conscientious objectors applied for alternative service based on religious beliefs.
Nearly all conscientious objectors were members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who opposed military service on religious grounds. Representatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses stated that, as of the end of August, among the 3,004 Jehovah’s Witnesses conscientious objectors who were transferred to alternative service, 1,174 were performing alternative service and 1,830 were waiting to be called for service. In October, the government discharged the first 60 conscientious objectors to complete the alternative service program.
Jehovah’s Witnesses stated that the government imprisoned one member for conscientious objection to military service. The Supreme Court did not recognize him as a conscientious objector and sentenced him to 18 months’ imprisonment. Jehovah’s Witnesses stated that the person in question was not a member at the time of his conscientious objection but joined the organization afterward. An additional seven conscientious objectors faced criminal proceedings or investigation at year’s end. Of those seven, six refused both military service and alternative service on the grounds that even the alternative service violated their conscience, and the seventh entered the alternative service program but withdrew before completion.
As of year’s end, alternative service personnel had filed 125 complaints with the Constitutional Court since 2018 (when the alternative system began) alleging the punitive nature of alternative service, according to Jehovah’s Witnesses representatives. Representatives pointed to the length of service (36 months compared to typical military conscription periods of 18-21 months), the nature of the work assignments (in correctional facilities and without accounting for the aptitudes and interests of participants), and the reported inconsistent implementation of an order that those performing alternative service should be granted leave to attend in-person religious gatherings, as punitive elements.
In April, the Military Manpower Administration’s Alternative Service Review Committee recommended the term of alternative service be reduced from 36 months to 27 months and called for greater diversity in service locations. In May, the NHRCK also made recommendations to reduce the length of alternative service to as short as 30 months and increase efforts to consider service personnel’s qualifications and aptitudes when making work assignments. In response to the recommendations, officials from the Military Manpower Administration said they would await a Constitutional Court ruling on the alternative service program before making changes to operating procedures.
In January, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) rejected a request by a Muslim migrant working in the country under the Employee Permit System to be allowed to change his workplace after his employer tasked him with cleaning pig intestines. Foreign workers employed through the Employee Permit System must apply for a workplace transfer to change employers; MOEL stated that 97.8 percent of such transfer requests were approved. In this case, however, MOEL determined that the worker’s assignment did not constitute discriminatory treatment on the basis of religion. The worker later reached an agreement with his employer for an alternative assignment shortly after a civil society campaign brought the case to public attention.
In June, the Daegu city government passed an ordinance disbanding a Religious Harmony Advisory Committee. The city established the committee in 2021 following several years of tensions between Buddhist groups and the city government over a perceived bias in favor of Christian-themed music by the Daegu City Choir. The ordinance to disband came after the committee vetoed a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as religiously biased because of lyrics praising God. The city said it would continue to respect religious neutrality but that the committee’s ruling had violated the freedom of culture and the arts. The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism expressed disappointment in the decision and called for reestablishing the committee.
Representatives of Falun Dafa said the group experienced difficulty securing public performance venues for its Shen Yun Performing Arts troupe. According to a report by The Epoch Times, the media outlet associated with Falun Dafa, a representative from the Chinese Embassy in Seoul stated in November that “the Chinese Embassy has been informing the Korean side of the Chinese position against the Shen Yun performance.” Regarding concerns expressed by Falun Dafa that its application to perform at a national theater in Seoul in early 2024 had been turned down, a MOFA official said the theater explained that the decision was based on considerations of artistic diversity because the troupe had played at the venue in February 2023.
The MCST’s Religious Affairs Division continued to engage with the seven members of the NGO Korean Conference of Religions for Peace (KCRP) – the National Council of Churches in Korea, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the Catholic Church, Won Buddhism, Confucianism, Cheondogyo, and the Association of Korean Native Religions – on interfaith cooperation, as the MCST was the primary government contact for religious organizations. During the year, the MCST disbursed 15.4 billion won ($11.8 million), compared with 14.39 billion won ($11 million) in 2022, to support religious and traditional cultural events, including Buddhist, Christian, Cheondogyo, and Confucian activities.
In September, the MCST reported it had expanded the role and resources of its Public Servant Religious Discrimination Reporting and Prevention Center. The MCST ordered the center to take a more proactive approach in preventing religious discrimination and added new research and academic functions to its responsibilities.
Residents in Daegu continued to protest the continued construction of a mosque that started in 2020, causing a halt in construction and prompting intervention by national and local authorities. In April, protestors briefly blocked the site near the west gate of the Kyunkgpook National University. Media outlets reported that construction of the mosque – built on the site of a house formerly used by Muslim students to gather for prayers and formally known as the Dar-ul Emaan Kyungpook and Islamic Center – resumed in July. MCST officials made site inspections in January and February, and local police were deployed to keep order.
In March, the NHRCK issued a statement saying that a December 2022 protest in which residents barbequed pork near the mosque was a form of hate speech. In August, the UN special rapporteur on religious freedom expressed concerns regarding anti-Muslim sentiment in connection with the project. Media outlets reported that severed pigs’ heads were placed near the site and that police said they could not remove them because there was no legal justification for doing so in the absence of a hate speech law. In October, the national government issued an official response noting that the district office had held four mediation meetings to attempt to resolve the issue and had established a plan to ensure any banners that violated human rights would be removed.
Reports from media and other sources cited other incidents of anti-Muslim bias. A female restaurant worker reported being told to take off her hijab for “safety reasons” in buses or parks, especially when traveling outside of Seoul. Another Muslim woman in her 20s reported frequently being told to “go back” to her country of origin and feeling her professional prospects were limited because of her religion. A male Muslim college student said he often heard insensitive remarks about terrorism and that Koreans were afraid of him.
During the year, the KCRP organized several programs to promote interfaith tolerance. For example, in September, the KCRP held a “Korean Religion and Islam Dialogue,” during which participants discussed interfaith collaboration, including medical cooperation projects in Iraq and efforts promoting a peace settlement in the Mindanao region of the Philippines. An imam at the Seoul Central Mosque reported his organization was publishing a series of columns, cultural lectures, and other projects to increase understanding of Islam within Korean society.
Embassy representatives engaged the government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MCST, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of National Defense, on religious freedom and tolerance issues.
The Ambassador and other senior embassy officials met with Protestant, Jewish, and Buddhist leaders. In February, the Ambassador participated in a candle lighting ceremony at an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day and in November attended a Rosh HaShannah dinner hosted by the Israeli ambassador. In June, the Ambassador attended an event with Protestant leaders to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Billy Graham Crusade in Seoul. In October, a senior embassy official attended a rally in support of peace in Israel, organized by the Israeli embassy.
Embassy officials also spoke regularly with religious and spiritual groups, including Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslim, Jewish, Falun Dafa, and other communities, to understand issues important to those groups and to underscore the U.S. commitment to freedom of religion or belief. These meetings included engagements with Jehovah’s Witnesses representatives to discuss the country’s alternative service system and action plans regarding the group’s efforts with NHRCK and legal issues.
Embassy officers also met with representatives of Falun Dafa and briefed government counterparts on the group’s allegations that its performing arts troupe experienced difficulties securing venues because of Chinese government pressure on local governments.
The embassy used social media platforms to highlight diversity of belief and respect for religious freedom.
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