A South Korean court has ordered the country’s army to recognise a deceased transgender soldier as a woman and annul her dismissal. The Daejeon District Court ruled on October 7, 2021, that the military unlawfully discriminated against Byun Hui-soo, the country’s first known transgender soldier, when it discharged her after she underwent gender reassignment surgery. It said that Byun’s changed gender was already legally recognised and that the army should have used standards applied to women to determine her fitness to serve. The case comes seven months after Byun was found dead at her home. She had gone to court seeking reinstatement but died before her case concluded. The army has said that it respects the court's decision but has yet to decide whether to lodge an appeal.
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