The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it determined that requiring court-martial spectators to sign a "pledge to ban the entry of unauthorized communication equipment" could infringe on freedom of conscience under the Constitution and conveyed to the Minister of the Ministry of National Defense the opinion that it is necessary to prepare measures to improve accessibility.
According to the NHRC on the 2nd, the petitioner, an activist affiliated with a civic group, tried to enter the courtroom in May 2024 to observe a Court-martial trial. Military police soldiers demanded a signature on the pledge. They could not present a legal basis and kept repeating only that the petitioner had to sign.
In Oct. of the same year, the petitioner also filed a complaint on the grounds that it was a human rights violation that the Court-martial collected spectators' personal information without notifying the items required by the Personal Information Protection Act and that the petitioner could not observe the military trial due to delays in the entry procedure.
The Court-martial said that during the May 2024 trial observation, it explained that the pledge did not need to be completed, and that the petitioner entered the courtroom without completing the pledge.
It also said that collecting spectators' personal information during the Oct. 2024 trial was a measure based on laws and regulations such as the Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act, and that all statutory notice items were provided except for the period of retention and use of personal information. The NHRC was told that the petitioner could have sufficiently observed the military trial if there had been the intent to do so.
The NHRC determined it was difficult to conclude that the Court-martial's actions amounted to a human rights violation and dismissed the complaint.
However, the NHRC said it determined that "the Court-martial's requiring the submission of a pledge when entering a military unit" lacks a legal basis and could infringe on freedom of conscience under the Constitution, and that "the current environment for observing military trials" could undermine the effective guarantee of the constitutional right to know and the principle of open trials.
The NHRC conveyed the opinion to the Minister of the Ministry of National Defense that, instead of a pledge, there is a need to receive the submission of a "guidance and acknowledgment form on the protection of military secrets, etc." and to issue a copy. It added that it is also necessary to prepare and implement measures to enhance spectators' accessibility to the Court-martial (a mid- to long-term roadmap, such as installing an off-base entrance for the Court-martial).