Byun Hui-su (June 11, 1998 – February 27, 2021) was the first known

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

soldier in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. She had risen to the rank of

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

and was a tank driver before being discharged from the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in January 2020 after she underwent

gender reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

in November 2019. She had fought for the right to continue serving in the army, but was denied and discharged. The army subsequently denied her request for reinstatement in July 2020. Speaking about her decision to undergo surgery, she stated, "I thought I would finish serving in the army and then go through the transition surgery and then reenter the army as a female soldier. But my depression got too severe. I want to show everyone that I can also be one of the great soldiers who protect this country." In March 2021, she was found dead in her home. Workers from Sangdanggu National Mental Health Center (where Byun received treatment) called for someone to check up on her as they hadn't been able to reach her since February 28. The fire department arrived at Ms Byun's house on March 3, and found her body at 5:49 pm KST. Her body had already started to decompose. In October 2021, South Korean court ruled that the

military discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

was unlawful and cancelled the discharge. Ministry of National Defense did not appeal the decision. In April 2024, Ministry of Defense's Central Committee for Examination of Killed or Wounded in Action and Death or Injury in the Line of Duty decided to acknowledge that Byun died as a soldier on the line of duty, thus paved way to the possibility of Byun’s burial in a national cemetery. The appeals committee found that she died of a depression caused by discharge, and decided there was a probable cause in relation to official duties. This overturned Army General Committee for Examination of Killed or Wounded in Action and Death or Injury in the Line of Duty's December 2020 decision which determined her death was not related to the discharge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byun, Hui-su 1998 births 2021 deaths People from Cheongju South Korean transgender women Transgender military personnel Republic of Korea Army personnel 21st-century South Korean LGBT people

See also

References