Unpatriotic Heretics or Conscientious Objectors:Difficulties Which Jehovah Witnesses Face in Taiwan and South Korea

不愛國的異教徒或良心犯:耶和華見證人在台灣與南韓所面臨的困境

在台灣和南韓,耶和華見證人因為分別違反這兩個國家的兵役法,而都曾被囚禁許多年。他們主張系爭法律侵犯這兩個國家憲法所明文保障的信仰自由,並因此請求憲法法院裁判。因為某些不明的原因,這兩個法院判決的判決理由幾乎完全相同。本文想探討為什麼這兩個具有不同政治、社經脈絡的國家,其憲法法院判決會如此類似。本文認為必定有些理由沒有出現在憲法判決中。簡言之,這兩國的歷史、司法違憲審查制度以及對於國防安全的需求是最可能的幾個原因,這些原因交織在一起,造成這兩個判決如此類似的情形。雖然這兩份多數意見的結論相同,值得注意的是在判決之後的發展情形卻大相逕庭。台灣在釋字第490號解釋之後,系爭法律被修正,替代役正式成為兵役的一種。在另一方面,南韓卻遲遲不肯承認替代役或其他類似制度。對於南韓的耶和華見證人及其他良心犯來說,還有一段既漫長又孤獨的路要走。

In Taiwan and in South Korea, Jehovah's Witnesses were incarcerated in the prison for many years because they violated respectively the two countries' Military Act. They argued that the laws at issue violated their freedom of religious belief, which is clearly written and protected in the Constitutions of the two countries. They petitioned the court for constitutional review. For some unknown reasons, the holdings and the reasoning of two cases are almost identical. This article wants to figure out why the decisions of the two countries with different political and socio-economical contexts are incredibly similar. The author believes that there must be some reasons not written in the published documents. In a nutshell, the history of the two countries, the judicial review system, and the domestic need for strong national defense are the most possible reasons interwoven together to generate this resemblance. Although the two majority opinions both reached conservative conclusions, it is worthwhile to note that the aftermaths of the two cases are quite different. After the Interpretation No. 490, the provision at issue was amended and the replacement service has been formally recognized as one kind of military service ever since. On the other hand, the replacement service or other alternative is still not available in South Korea. It is still a harsh and solitary way for the Jehovah's Witnesses and other conscientious objectors in South Korea to move on.