Prospects for the trial of ‘Intentional Abuse’ in military training
Charged with abuse causing death instead of criminal negligence
Procedures not followed… No confirmation of physical condition or temperature
Ministry of National Defense prohibits military training with physical training methods,
The junior officer (second lieutenant) of the 12th Division was implicated in holding a military training (Eolcharyeo) that violated regulations related to the death of a trainee in 12th Division, army, and is coming out of the court after the ruling ahead of arrest at Chuncheon District Court in Gangwon Province on July 21. [Yonhap],
,
, ‘[Herald Economy=Reporter Kim Yong-jae] The first trial of the junior officer and the deputy junior officer of the rookie training company of the 12th Division of the Army, who instructed the ‘military training’ (known as Eolcharyeo) that violated regulations and led to the death of a trainee, is to commence.’,
,
, ‘The Chuncheon District Court’s Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Kim Sung-rae) will hold the first trial of the junior officer, Kang (27, Second Lieutenant), and the deputy junior officer, Nam (25, Lieutenant), on charges of abuse causing death and abuse of authority and cruelty.’,
,
, ‘On May 23, the two conducted a military training in violation of regulations with six trainees in the Rookie Training Company of the 12th Division in Inje, Gangwon-do, and are charged with causing the death of trainee Park by not handling him appropriately after he fainted.’,
,
, ‘Based on the investigation results on the circumstances and progress that led to the victim’s death, such as weather conditions, training methods, progress, and physical condition, the prosecution assessed that the victim died as a result of abusive military training that can be deemed as abuse.’,
,
, ‘The prosecution applied charges of ‘abuse causing death’ (imprisonment of 3 years or more to 30 years) instead of ‘criminal negligence causing death’ (imprisonment of 5 years or less) that are typically used in cases of unintentional harm.’,
,
, ‘In this case, the prosecution considered the accused as a ‘resultantly aggravated offender’ who caused a severe consequence (death) due to intentional abuse, rather than negligence, and thus the trial is likely to focus on whether there was ‘intentional abuse.”,
,
, ‘After the charges were filed, Nam submitted two letters of reflection to the court. However, Kang did not submit any.’,
,
, ‘According to the investigation, Nam reported to Kang the next morning that the six trainees made noise after lights out on May 22, and received approval for the military training and implemented it.’,
,
, ‘Despite the military regulations requiring the preparation of a confirmation letter for the trainees before conducting military training to clearly state the reasons and provide an opportunity for explanation, and then make the final decision on the military training after confirming, these procedures were not followed. They did not properly check the trainees’ physical condition or the temperature index of the training ground.’,
,
, ‘Under these circumstances, Nam made the trainees who did not have all the supplies fill the military barracks with books to conduct abnormal complete military equipment procedures and then made them carry guns and march with two loads of water cans.’,
,
, ‘Subsequently, Kang, in a state of complete military gear, led the trainees to do a one-lap march, followed by push-ups and three consecutive laps of marching. Eventually, Trainee Park collapsed while doing the three consecutive laps at 5:11 PM.’,
,
, ‘The defendants failed to properly recognize the emergency situation caused by heatstroke and delayed prompt first aid. Trainee Park died at around 3 PM on the 25th due to multiple organ failure caused by heatstroke.’,
,
, ‘Following the incident, the Ministry of National Defense decided to prohibit military training with physical training methods as a measure to prevent recurrence.’,
,
,