South Korean transgender soldier pleads to stay in army

SEOUL: A transgender South Korean soldier who enlisted as a man and underwent a sex change last year pleaded tearfully to be allowed to stay in uniform on Wednesday after the military decided to discharge her.

The country remains deeply conservative about matters of sexual identity and is less tolerant of LGBT rights than some other parts of Asia, with many gay and transgender Koreans living largely under the radar.

Byun Hee-soo, a staff sergeant in her 20s, enlisted voluntarily in 2017, and went on to have gender-reassignment surgery in November in Thailand. She had expressed her desire to remain in the army but a military panel ruled on Wednesday that she will be compulsorily discharged.

Byun waived her previous anonymity to appear at a press conference, wearing her fatigues and saluting the gathered journalists and cameras. "I´m a soldier of the Republic of Korea," she said, her voice breaking.