South Korea’s Defense Ministry has expressed support for granting service members the explicit right to refuse unlawful orders — a measure introduced in the wake of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration on Dec. 3 — according to officials from the ministry on Tuesday.
The ministry delivered its position during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee subcommittee.
The proposed revisions to the Basic Act on Service of Military Personnel were first submitted to the defense committee in September by Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, who also serves as a National Assembly lawmaker. Ahn and nine other lawmakers from the ruling bloc introduced the amendment seeking to solidify service members’ right to reject unlawful or improper commands, citing the Dec. 3 martial law declaration.
According to the amendment submitted to the committee, Article 25 — which governs the duty to obey orders — would be revised to require soldiers to follow only “legitimate orders,” allowing them to refuse any order that is “clearly unlawful” without facing personnel disadvantages.
The revision would also add language to Article 24 requiring commanders to issue orders “in compliance with the Constitution and relevant laws,” and modify Article 36 to explicitly prohibit superiors from issuing commands that “violate the Constitution, laws or exceed their formal authority,” according to the draft.
In addition to supporting the amendment, the Defense Ministry proposed mandating constitutional education within the military, including requiring the defense minister to provide instruction on constitutional principles on a regular basis.
A ministry official, speaking on background, said the new rules would be incorporated into training to ensure clarity for service members.
“We plan to minimize confusion by providing concrete examples of unlawful orders and clear guidance on how soldiers should respond,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
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