Seoul: South Korea's military decided on Wednesday to discharge a soldier, Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, who recently undertook gender reassignment surgery — a ruling expected to draw strong criticism from human rights activists.

It was the first time in South Korea that an active-duty member has been referred to a military panel to determine whether to end his or her service due to a sex change operation. The army said in a statement that it concluded that the soldier's sex-change operation can be considered as a reason for discharge.