South Korea’s first transgender soldier found dead after she is forced out of military

Byun Hee-soo launched a landmark legal battle against the military to challenge her dismissal

File: Late Byun Hee-soo in January 2020 at a press conference in Seoul. The transgender soldier was found dead on 3 March 2021 (YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images)

South Korea’s first transgender soldier, who was forcibly ousted from the military after she underwent gender assignment surgery, has been found dead at her home.

Emergency services found Byun Hee-soo, 23, in her home in the central city of Cheongju on Wednesday after her mental health counsellor alerted the police that she was not reachable since 28 February, news agency Yonhap reported.

The cause of her death is not known and no suicide note has been found.

Byun was dismissed by the military from serving as a staff sergeant in January 2020, shortly after she had her gender reassignment surgery. The defence ministry classified her loss of male genital as physical disability under the military law.

The transgender rights campaigner then went on to file a suit against the military’s decision, seeking to continue her services as a female. The first hearing in the case was scheduled to take place next month.

Her death has sparked an outcry in social media among people and activists of the LGBTQ community as they condemned the government for not recognising transgender individuals.

“This is so very sad. Korea is the 10th largest economy in the world but acceptance of LGBTQ is horrifically low. I hope Byun Hee-soo’s courage was not all in vain,” said a twitter user.

Amnesty International South Korea also lamented the loss of Byun, who “showed courage for a world free of discrimination and hate” and said, “we are against transphobia."

Wearing her combat uniform and saluting at the cameras, Byun went public to address her dismissal at a press conference, pleading that she be allowed to serve in the military.

“I’m a soldier of the Republic of Korea,” Byun had said breaking down before the journalists, adding that serving the country had been her childhood dream.

“Putting aside my sexual identity, I want to show everyone that I can be one of the great soldiers defending this country,” she continued. “Please give me that chance.”

The defence ministry in their initial comment said they are not in a position to say anything regarding “the news of the death of a civilian” but issued a statement on Thursday following backlash on social media.

"We express condolences over the regrettable death of the late former staff sergeant Byun Hee-soo," Colonel Moon Hong-sik, deputy ministry spokesperson, said during a regular press briefing.

Her landmark battle against the military triggered a debate in the country over the treatment of people of the LGBTQ community.

Korea’s umbrella association of 40 sexual minority groups, Rainbow Action Against Sexual-Minority Discrimination, said her death has resonated with the public because the “military and this society refused to acknowledge the change”.