The Supreme Court docket of Korea has dominated {that a} South Korean man should serve one yr and 6 months in jail after he refused the nation’s necessary army service. He had argued he was a conscientious objector, however a decrease court docket dismissed this partially as a result of he loves taking part in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
Launched in 2017, PUBG was one of many first and hottest battle royale shooters round. It nonetheless holds the document for many concurrent gamers on Steam at over 3 million. (Not even the current mega-hit Palworld may prime that quantity.) Whereas different video games—like Fortnite and Name of Responsibility: Warzone—have usurped its standing as the highest battle royale title, it nonetheless usually seems on Steam’s most-played video games record and nonetheless has a really giant neighborhood. That features one man in South Korea who seeking to keep away from necessary army service.
In November 2018, an unnamed South Korean man was charged with violating the nation’s Army Service Act, which compels all able-bodied males within the nation to serve within the army for no less than 18 months. As reported by The Korea Herald (and noticed by Gamesradar) the person initially advised the court docket he refused to enlist based mostly on his private beliefs in opposition to battle.
Within the verdict handed down in 2018—and upheld by the Supreme Court docket on February 4—the court docket mentioned the defendant had “not put any effort into spreading or realizing what he says is his ideological perception.” The court docket additionally pointed to the person’s love of PUBG as additional proof he wasn’t in opposition to battle and violence.
“The defendant admitted that he regularly loved taking part in the sport ‘Battlegrounds,’ which is about killing characters with weapons in a digital actuality,” the court docket added, as reported by The Korea Herald. “The online game is completely different from actuality. However the truth that the defendant—who says he’s rejecting army service based mostly on his beliefs to oppose violence and battle—enjoys such video games makes the court docket query whether or not his conscientious objection is genuine.”
Based on investigators, he refused to hitch the army because of “rampant unfair orders” and since it usually disregards human rights. The court docket disagreed and now the Supreme Court docket of Korea has confirmed the unique ruling. The defendant will now be pressured to serve 18 months in jail—the identical period of time he would have needed to serve within the army.
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