At the Army’s 12th Division Recruit Training Center in Inje-gun, Gangwon-do, victims who trained alongside a recruit, identified by the surname Park, who died due to excessive discipline training violating regulations have expressed strong intentions for severe punishment for the commanding officers involved.
According to legal circles on the 21st, three trainees who underwent the same excessive discipline training as Park have recently dismissed their court-appointed lawyers. This decision was made because the lawyers conveyed settlement offers habitually, despite the trainees’ intention not to show leniency toward Captain Kang (27), the company commander, and First Lieutenant Nam (25), the deputy company commander, who conducted the training. Captain Kang offered a settlement of 3 million won through the trainees’ court-appointed lawyer, while the deputy offered 5 million won. The trainees reportedly felt uncomfortable with the repeated attempts at settlement without a genuine apology.
Trainee A, who was the first to dismiss his court-appointed lawyer, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a mental health clinic. Lawyer Kang Seok-min, representing trainees like A, requested the court to amend the charges to include bodily harm through abuse, given the PTSD diagnosis. During court testimony, the trainees pleaded for severe punishment for Captain Kang and First Lieutenant Nam, stating the ordeal was the most difficult experience in their lives, rating it a ten out of ten on a hardship scale.
Captain Kang and First Lieutenant Nam, charged with causing death through abuse and abuse of authority, have been shifting blame onto each other in court. In a hearing on the 11th, Captain Kang claimed that First Lieutenant Nam reported plans to conduct discipline training with full gear, but considering the trainees had only joined two weeks earlier, he instructed to proceed with partial gear instead. However, First Lieutenant Nam contradicted this, stating he did not remember reporting such plans and that Captain Kang did not instruct partial gear usage.
On May 23rd, at the 12th Division, Captain Kang and First Lieutenant Nam subjected Park and other trainees to abuse by making them perform drills like walking, running, single laps, and push-ups in full gear, all of which deviated from regulations. During this excessive discipline, Park collapsed, and the lack of appropriate medical response led to his death from heat stroke-induced multiple organ failure.