ID :
194546
Tue, 07/12/2011 - 13:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/194546
The shortlink copeid
Lee calls for sweeping change in military's 'barracks culture'
(LEAD) SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak called Tuesday for a sweeping change in the military's "barracks culture" amid criticism that bullying, harassment and other hostile practices among soldiers led to the suicide deaths of two Marines and a shooting rampage by another.
"We have to change the barracks culture dramatically," Lee said during a Cabinet meeting, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha. "Along with defense reform, we have to intensively study measures to change the culture of barracks life."
On Sunday, a Marine was found to have hanged himself at his base in the southeastern port city of Pohang with a suicide note complaining of the difficulties of military life. An autopsy found signs of subcutaneous bleeding in his chest, an indication that he had been beaten.
Another Marine was also found to have hanged himself last week while on a leave of absence. Investigators said the deceased had talked to his friends about the difficulties of serving in the military and that they were looking into the possibility that his comrades harassed him.
On July 4, a Marine corporal opened fire on his base on Ganghwa Island near the tense maritime border with North Korea, killing four fellow Marines and injuring another. Military investigators found that the shooter, surnamed Kim, was found to be mentally unstable at the time and angered by alleged bullying and beatings from his comrades.
By law, all physically fit South Korean men should serve in the military for about two years.
Alleged hostilities aside, the Marine Corps is becoming increasingly popular among young men, according to data from the Military Manpower Administration.
According to a report submitted Tuesday to Rep. Song Young-sun of the minor opposition Future Hope Alliance, 2,702 draftees applied for 954 openings in the Marine Corps this September, recording a competition ratio of 2.83 to 1.
The figure is the highest in recent years, with comparable data showing ratios of 2.34 to 1 in July 2008, 1.79 to 1 in the same month of 2009 and 2.4 to 1 last July.
"We have to change the barracks culture dramatically," Lee said during a Cabinet meeting, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha. "Along with defense reform, we have to intensively study measures to change the culture of barracks life."
On Sunday, a Marine was found to have hanged himself at his base in the southeastern port city of Pohang with a suicide note complaining of the difficulties of military life. An autopsy found signs of subcutaneous bleeding in his chest, an indication that he had been beaten.
Another Marine was also found to have hanged himself last week while on a leave of absence. Investigators said the deceased had talked to his friends about the difficulties of serving in the military and that they were looking into the possibility that his comrades harassed him.
On July 4, a Marine corporal opened fire on his base on Ganghwa Island near the tense maritime border with North Korea, killing four fellow Marines and injuring another. Military investigators found that the shooter, surnamed Kim, was found to be mentally unstable at the time and angered by alleged bullying and beatings from his comrades.
By law, all physically fit South Korean men should serve in the military for about two years.
Alleged hostilities aside, the Marine Corps is becoming increasingly popular among young men, according to data from the Military Manpower Administration.
According to a report submitted Tuesday to Rep. Song Young-sun of the minor opposition Future Hope Alliance, 2,702 draftees applied for 954 openings in the Marine Corps this September, recording a competition ratio of 2.83 to 1.
The figure is the highest in recent years, with comparable data showing ratios of 2.34 to 1 in July 2008, 1.79 to 1 in the same month of 2009 and 2.4 to 1 last July.
