On Dec. 9, Human Rights Day was celebrated by NCCK with its 28th annual Human Rights united worship and presentation of the Human Rights award.   The worship focused on the story of the Good Samaritan, with sermon preached by retired professor Kim Chang Nak.  Reflections on the importance of the work of the Human Rights Centre and the support they give was shared by representatives of two groups assisted by NCCK’s Human Rights Centre during the past year, first by Mrs. Han Young on behalf of the wives of those from the United Progressive Party being held in prison on charges of conspiracy under the National Security Law, and then three workers from the protest lines representing labourers suffering violence from corporations, specifically Ssanyong Motors and CNN.   The recipient of this years’ Award was Im Tae Hoon, the director of the Military Human Rights Centre.  Im Tae Hoon has a very interesting history.  Information taken from Amnesty Report, March 2005 says that since 1997 Im was an activist seeking equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Korea. He also was vocal in seeking abolition of the draconian National Security Law in South Korea, campaigned against the governments AIDS policies and media propaganda, and lobbied for the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission. He led committees against internet censorship and discrimination against LGBT people, and leads an LGBT group at AI Korea.  Im was arrested in February 2004 for refusing to serve in Korea’s mandatory military service. He was a conscientious objector, refusing to serve in the military due to his convictions of non-violence and peace.     Since that time, Im Tae Hoon has become director of a non-governmental agency, the Center for Military Human Rights in Korea.  In this position, he works to uncover incidents within the Korean military which violate human rights.   A July, 2011 New York Times article reported that the Korean Defense Ministry had announced a crackdown on beatings and other abuses in the military and the eradication of a practice that many consider a bedrock of military life here but that has also been blamed for widespread brutality: the “order and obey” system, according to which soldiers and marines with seniority are encouraged to devise harsh penalties for their subordinates, and even beat them, in order to punish failure and enforce obedience to the smallest of rules and traditions.   However, abuses continue. In August, 2014, a BBC report says: “A military conscript's death in April has triggered outrage in South Korea following allegations that he was abused by fellow soldiers.   The army has said that Mr. Yoon, the 23-year-old conscript who died in April was struck in the chest by his colleagues while he was eating some snacks, This reportedly caused a piece of food to obstruct his airway and he died from asphyxiation.   However, the Center for Military Human Rights Korea disputed this account, saying Mr. Yoon was repeatedly beaten on the head by his sergeant and showed signs of concussion before losing consciousness.   Six soldiers have been arrested and four of them face manslaughter charges, but the Center is calling for the suspects to be charged with murder instead of manslaughter.   This death was followed by an incident in June where a conscript who had allegedly been bullied shot dead five colleagues.   The incident has triggered severe criticism of the military and widespread concern about conscript abuse. Military conscription is compulsory in South Korea.”   The Economist, reporting on the same incident in Sept., 2014 says, “In recent months reports have trickled out of South Korea’s barracks of beatings, humiliation and verbal abuse. News of a young conscript’s death surfaced in August.     The case has shocked South Koreans—as did an incident in 2011 when a badly bullied conscript went on a shooting rampage, killing four people; and another in 2005 when a soldier killed eight others with a grenade after being tormented by them.”   The Military Human Rights Center is trying to bring the military to a place of taking responsibility for violations that take place within its ranks and reform this inhuman system.