(ANSA) - ROME, MARCH 03 - The first transgender soldier from South Korea was found dead in her apartment during a period of leave she had taken to undergo surgery.
The BBC reports.
The causes of the death of Byun Hee-soo, who was also a transgender rights activist, are not yet known.
The 23-year-old disappeared since February 28.
Not having heard her anymore, the psychologist who was following her on her journey called the emergency services.
In January last year, she launched a historic challenge to the armed forces of South Korea, an extremely conservative country in terms of sexual identity, but in July her request to be reintegrated into the army was rejected. In December, the South Korean Commission on Human Rights instead ruled that his expulsion from the army had no legal basis.
Byun had also been targeted by anti-LGBT movements, who had organized demonstrations when her story came out to ask the army to oust her.
(HANDLE).
