군복무를 피할 목적으로 외국에 나가 캐나다 시민권을 따고 돌아온 30 대 남성이 병역을 기피한 죄로 추방될 위기에 놓였다.
서울중앙지법 형사항소5부(부장판사 성수제)는 병역법 위반 혐의로 기소된 이모(37)씨에 대한 항소심에서 원심과 같이 징역 6월에 집행유예 1년을 선고했다.
출입국관리법에 따라, 금고 이상의 형이 확정된 외국인은 강제 추방하도록 되있다.
재판부는 “이씨는 (2년의) 국외여행허가를 받은 뒤 정당한 사유 없이 기간 내에 귀국하지 않은 만큼 병역법 위반죄가 성립한다”며, ”사후에 캐나다 시민권을 취득했다고 해도 이미 성립된 범죄에는 아무런 영향이 없다“고 말했다.
1심에 항소한 이씨는 재판부에 “한국 국적의 여성과 결혼해 1월부터 한국에서 거주할 계획“이라며 “최근 수술을 받은 노모를 부양해야 한다”며 선처를 호소했지만 재판부는 받아들이지 않았다.
재판부는 이씨의 행위는 새로운 병역기피 수단으로 악용될 우려가 매우 높다며 집행유예 판결이 확정될 경우 강제로 퇴거될 우려가 있다고 해도 형이 너무 무겁다고 볼 수 없다고 밝혔다.
병역의무자였던 이씨는 1998년 미국으로 유학을 떠나면서 병무청으로부터 2년 동안의 해외여행 허가를 받았지만 10년 넘게 해외 거주하면서 한국 국적을 포기하게 됐다.
하지만 귀국 뒤 병역기피혐의로 1심에서 징역 6월에 집행유예 1년을 선고받은 이 씨는, 금고 이상의 형을 받은 외국인은 추방된다는 출입국관리법 제46조에 따라 형이 확정되는대로 국외로 추방되게 된다.
(코리아헤럴드 석지현 기자 monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
<관련 영문 기사>
Man convicted of draft dodging may face deportation: court
A South Korean man was found guilty of obtaining Canadian citizenship to evade the country’s mandatory military service, court officials said on Thursday.
The Seoul Central District Court upheld a ruling last Friday sentencing the 37-year-old man, identified by the surname Lee, to six months in prison with a one-year stay of execution for giving up his Korean nationality to avoid military conscription.
Lee is expected to be deported to Canada as under the country’s Immigration Control Act foreign nationals who receive jail sentences, including suspended sentences, are subject to deportation.
“Military service is a duty for citizens of South Korea in order to exercise their rights and receive various benefits. A heavy punishment is necessary for dodging that responsibility,” the court said in its ruling.
The case began in 1998 when Lee, then 21, requested permission to go overseas from the Military Manpower Administration, explaining that he would study in the U.S. The MMA granted Lee’s request and gave him two years to stay abroad from Nov. 11, 1998.
But Lee stayed overseas more than 10 years, receiving Canadian citizenship and then renouncing his Korean nationality in 2011.
South Korean law stipulates that all South Korean men over the age of 18 are subject to compulsory military service. All able-bodied men must serve for at least 21 months in South Korea’s 639,000-strong military before they turn 30.
While some consider military service a sacred duty, others find ways to get exempted, such as abandoning their nationality, feigning insanity or undergoing major surgeries.
Court documents show that Lee returned to Korea to marry a Korean woman in January and planned to raise a family here.
In 2013, the prosecution indicted Lee for violating the military service act and a district court gave him a suspended jail sentence.
Lee appealed, requesting that the court defer the sentence and pleading for mercy, saying that he needs to take care of his mother, whose health has quickly worsened after a recent surgery.
The appeals court dismissed Lee’s request, saying “rights carry duties.”
“There’s a high chance that Lee could become an example for others who seek to avoid conscription. The suspended sentence in the original ruling was not an excessive punishment for the defendant,” the court said.
By Suk Gee-hyun (
monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
