Court overturns penalties against fireman

A Seoul court ruled Tuesday that it was unfair to discipline a fireman for behavior in the workplace that was not necessarily of a homosexual nature. The court handed down the ruling in a suit filed by a fireman, whose name was withheld, against the Seoul city mayor after he received a two-month pay cut for his behavior.

The presiding judge acknowledged that the plaintiff had kissed another man but said that such behavior could occur normally among colleagues and could not necessarily be described as being homosexual in nature.

The fireman, who began his career in 1995, was punished after he wielded a knife last January and said that he felt betrayed by his colleague's marriage.