[Editorial] Military Life Urgently Needs 'Reform'

The shooting spree at a DMZ watch post has deeply implanted in the people a sense of worry that life in the Korean military is still inhumane and can lead to shocking deaths. You worry that it could lead to even greater desire to evade conscription, something serious enough as it is already. Soldiers have surely suffered a significant loss of morale. That is a massive loss for the nation.

There is more than a little about the military's findings that are hard to make sense of. The perpetrator was calm and composed even after having indiscriminately shot at his fellow soldiers. It would seem he was not cut out for duty at the frontline, so there needs to be answers as to why he was a candidate. However, not all responsibility should be placed on problems with him as an individual. They say that currently one out of ten soldiers is having difficulty adjusting to military life. That means the bigger responsibility lies with the culture of the military, for being out of touch with the times.

While it is said that things have improved a lot, soldiers still say they fear the inhumane treatment in their barracks more than the difficulties of training. Soldiers belonging to the new generation who have grown up in a democratic society must not be expected to adjust without changes being made. The fact of the matter is that without proactive consideration of the civil rights of individual soldiers it will be hard to foster unity among the troops and promote morale.

In a recent Hankyoreh survey, more than half of the soldiers who were discharged after the defense ministry announced its prohibition on acts of abuse in August 2003 say they experienced acts of abuse. In this latest incident as well, there were acts of linguistic violence that caused great injury. All the military's leadership has done is hand down prohibitions on acts of abuse. It needs to consider whether it has neglected the work of finding new standards and modes of behavior. It needs to make unprecedented changes in the culture of military life, if only to prevent additional tragedies.

The Hankyoreh, 21 June 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]