Physical altercations highest in Navy: report

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- Navy soldiers have been more exposed to physical abuse compared to other military forces over the past several years, a lawmaker said Friday, calling for measures to curb violence in the barracks.
A total of 4,670 cases of violence took place in the Navy between January 2005 and June this year, Rep. Kim Jang-soo of the ruling Grand National Party said, citing a Navy report submitted for a parliamentary audit.
The number of such cases rose steadily from 344 in 2005 to 971 in 2009.
In the first half of this year alone, 556 cases of physical abuse against Navy soldiers were reported, 8.6 times more than those reported by a similar-sized Air Force in the cited period. The ratio of violence to the number of soliders was double the Army's 0.4 percent, the report said.
At least two years of military service is compulsory for all able-bodied South Korean men, but some soldiers and parents have complained of harsh physical discipline and rampant harassment within the barrack.
The Defense Ministry brought out new orders banning beating, cruelty and humiliation within the armed forces, in light of a July shooting rampage by a Marine within the military,
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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