Supreme Court rules active-duty soldiers can face sex crime treatment orders

The Supreme Court ruled that active-duty soldiers convicted of sexual offenses can be ordered to complete mandatory treatment programs if their sentences result in the automatic loss of military status.

The high court sent a case back to a lower court after finding it erred by withholding a treatment order from an active-duty noncommissioned officer fined for indecent assault. The original judgment had imposed an 8 million won penalty but declined to add the counseling mandate, citing the defendant's standing as a serving soldier.

Justices determined that because the fine conviction automatically strips the individual of active-duty status under the Military Personnel Act, the barrier to issuing the order no longer applies. The court reasoned that the execution of the treatment program would occur after the defendant had already become a civilian.

The ruling clarifies that while current laws exempt active-duty personnel from probation and community service to preserve military command authority, this exemption does not extend to cases where the verdict itself guarantees discharge. In the specific case returned to the lower court, decided on April 2, the court found that the original judges misinterpreted the Special Act on Punishment of Sexual Crimes by assuming the defendant's current status constituted a special circumstance preventing the order.

The decision underscores that the legislative intent behind the exemption was to avoid practical difficulties in enforcing community-based orders within military bases. Since the treatment would take place after the soldier loses their status upon finalization of the judgment, the rationale for the exemption vanishes.