Military service for foreign-born men ahead of citizenship renunciation constitutional: court

• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

The Constitutional Court has upheld the constitutionality of the law requiring military service for men born to Korean parents temporarily staying overseas before they can renounce their Korean citizenship.

According to legal sources Wednesday, all eight Constitutional Court judges rejected a 23-year-old man's petition questioning the constitutionality of the Nationality Act forcing conscription on people in his situation.

The man was born to Korean parents in the United States while they were studying there. He held dual Korean and U.S. citizenships, and his application to renounce his South Korean nationality in 2018 was rejected.

Under the Nationality Act, a man born in a foreign country to Korean parents with no intention to obtain permanent residency in that country must first fulfill his military duty before being allowed to renounce his Korean citizenship.

The man argued that the definition of intention to obtain permanent residency status was ambiguous. However, the Constitutional Court ruled that the particular clause in the Nationality Act is necessary to prevent men with dual...