The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has called for legislation that clearly establishes procedures for soldiers to refuse and challenge unlawful or unjust orders.
The commission said Sunday that it submitted the opinion to the Speaker of the National Assembly on May 30 regarding a pending partial amendment to the Framework Act on the Status and Service of Military Personnel. "Superiors must issue lawful orders in accordance with the Constitution and the law," the commission stressed.
Current law stipulates soldiers' duty to obey orders in the line of duty, but the NHRCK pointed to structural limitations that make it difficult for subordinates to challenge superiors' orders due to the military's deeply entrenched chain-of-command culture. In particular, the commission cited cases during the declaration of emergency martial law in December 2024, when some troops were mobilized without having adequately assessed the legitimacy of their orders.
The NHRCK acknowledged "the need to maintain hierarchical order within the military," but said "the general freedom of action and freedom of conscience guaranteed under the Constitution are fundamental rights that also apply to military personnel, and the relationship between these rights and the duty of obedience needs to be clearly defined." Considering Supreme Court precedents and legislative examples from Germany, France, the United States and the United Kingdom, the commission explained that soldiers' duty of obedience is limited to orders that comply with the law. For orders that fall outside that scope, the duty of obedience cannot be recognized, it concluded.
The NHRCK also called for strengthened education and training on relevant laws including the Constitution, the Framework Act on Military Service, and the Martial Law Act. It added that systematic education starting from the officer training stage is important. "We hope that this legislative amendment will enable the military's command structure and hierarchy to achieve harmony with the protection of soldiers' fundamental rights," the commission said.