On February 28, 2019, the last one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Korea imprisoned for neutrality was released. All the brothers who have been set free have expressed deep gratitude for their newfound freedom and the opportunity they had to prove their loyalty to Jehovah God.
A total of 65 brothers have been released since the historic Supreme Court decision on November 1, 2018, which declared that conscientious objection to military service is not a crime. The ruling brought to an end the 65-year-old practice of imprisoning conscientious objectors.
The faith and integrity of our Korean brothers motivates us to ‘show all the more courage’ in our own loyal service to our King and his Kingdom. (Philippians 1:14) We pray for our brothers who remain imprisoned in Eritrea, Russia, Singapore, and Turkmenistan.—Hebrews 10:34.
Since 1953, young Korean men who are Jehovah’s Witnesses have been imprisoned for conscientious objection to military service. In February 2019, this changed. Learn what led up to this history-making occasion.