On Thursday, November 1, 2018, South Korea’s Supreme Court decided in a 9-4 decision that conscientious objection does not constitute a crime. Religious conscience is now considered “justifiable grounds” for refraining from military enlistment. This landmark decision by South Korea’s highest court lays the groundwork for issuing not guilty verdicts for the over 900 brothers with cases pending in all levels of Korea’s court system.

Earlier in the year, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled that there must be a provision for conscientious objectors to have alternative service options by December 2019.

We rejoice and praise Jehovah for this historic decision.