A military officer deserves a forced discharge from service due to the sexual harassment of female subordinates, a court said Sunday.

The commander of a recruit training company, only identified as A, lost a case he filed with the Seoul Administrative Court against the Defense Minister, seeking a cancellation of the minister's order to release him from military service, the court said.

The commander sexually molested two female first lieutenants and a female staff sergeant through words and acts, court documents showed.

"Sexual harassment within the military inflicts severe mental pain on victims and undermines the discipline and morale of the military in consideration of the special characteristics of the military in which strict discipline is kept," the court said. "The level of the crime is serious as the accused took advantage of his status as a company commander to sexually harass the women soldiers repeatedly."

A has insisted he just joked to his subordinates while mingling with them intimately in private. (Yonhap)