S. Korea Marine hangs himself in new blow to Corps

[unreal.livejournal.com]

A South Korean Marine has hanged himself in his barracks, an official said Monday, in a new blow to the Corps after a corporal who claimed he was bullied went on a deadly shooting spree last week.

The 19-year-old Private First Class, identified only as Jung, was found by colleagues Sunday night hanging in a barracks shower room in the southeastern port of Pohang, a Marine Corps spokesman said.

Military investigators found an apparent suicide note in his locker with complaints about his life and a message for his parents.

"Investigations are under way to determine the reason for the suicide and if there was any harsh treatment (of Jung)," the spokesman told AFP.


The defence ministry vowed a crackdown on bullying throughout the 650,000-strong largely conscript military.

The elite Marine Corps is reeling from a storm of criticism following the July 4 shooting rampage by a Marine corporal who complained of bullying and beatings by superiors.

The shooting at a barracks on Ganghwa island, west of Seoul and near the tense sea border with North Korea, left four soldiers dead and one injured. The corporal surnamed Kim was also injured by a grenade blast in a suicide attempt.

An army psychology test had earlier found Kim to be unstable and to have difficulty in coping with military life, military investigators have said. He had also been drinking before the shooting.

A Marine private arrested for allegedly assisting Kim's rampage also claimed to have been bullied but denied involvement in the actual shooting.

The private told investigators a superior had burned his Bible and set his uniform on fire, media reports said.

A colonel and a lieutenant-colonel from the Ganghwa unit will be sacked as commanders as a punishment. Some of the soldiers allegedly involved in bullying the pair may be arrested, said defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok.

The military has vowed to make "utmost efforts" to end bullying in barracks following an emergency order from Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin.

The Marine Corps is responsible for guarding frontline islands in the Yellow Sea near the disputed border with the North.

But last week's incident -- the third to afflict the military overall in six years -- raised questions about standards of discipline in the armed forces.

More than 940 soldiers from two Marine divisions were treated in hospital from January 2009 to March 2011 for suspected physical abuse, according to a defence ministry report submitted to lawmakers last week.

Source: AFP

Comments

[folkloric.livejournal.com]

....If there's that much abuse being recorded, and these instances are happening, why isn't there just an open investigation of the Corp as a whole? How much of a red flag do you need to actually decide to really look at the problem.

[lil-rach-angel.livejournal.com]

Ugh, this. Not to mention letting people in who have been tested unstable. What the fuck.

[caribgirl98.livejournal.com]

Korea's way to deal with things is to pretend is doesn't exist. They want everything to see perfect when it' not.

[folkloric.livejournal.com]

Rather, let's pretend its ok until international condemnation happens. There's trying to ignore the problem and then there's willfully pretty much endangering your populous. There's already been a shooting rampage, are they waiting for another, larger one, to happen for them to act?

[iylover.livejournal.com]

Geez. Now I understand why they say Marine's is the toughest.

RIP to all those who lost their lives this past week. =/

[sai12.livejournal.com]

Wow almost 1000 people are treated and yet no one has thought to actually investigate this?

[coffee-ika.livejournal.com]

this is just too much.

[x-taehee.livejournal.com]

A 19 year old commits suicide. I may repeat.
a NINETEEN YEAR OLD COMMITS SUICIDE

This is just the worst thing ever. He still had a bright future before him.
The death of young people is so painful, so sudden.

Suicide has never been a solution.
I wish the best for his family.

[hitsujiga.livejournal.com]

wtf so much mistreatment and nothing is happening. not only the bullied marine's need proper care also the old guys going crazy in the army. while i do see a necessity for soldiers to be physically and mentally strong, them being bullied shouldn't be considered as any form of 'training'. there are other ways to mentally prepare you. and not everyone feels and reacts the same, so a proper selection of soldiers should be done beforehand.