Soldier found dead during border duty

By Lee Tae-hoon

An enlisted soldier in a frontline unit was found dead during sentry duty near the Demilitarized Zone Wednesday. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the head in what appears to be a suicide, a senior officer said.

Col. Eom Hyo-sik, an Army spokesman, said a 22-year-old corporal surnamed Kim found a 26-year-old private surnamed Lee bleeding from the head at around 10:10 a.m. after hearing a gunshot during guard duty.

“Kim was on guard duty with Lee but claims that he could not see what action Lee took when he heard the gunshot,”he said, noting that sentries may fail to notice the suicide of a colleague as they often stand facing in opposite directions.

Eom said military police will investigate the exact cause of the incident, but it seemed to have been a suicide as a bullet fired from Lee’s K-2 rifle caused the tragic incident.

Lee joined the Army in early May and was dispatched to the frontline unit in Hwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, last month after completing his basic training at a boot camp.

He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital by helicopter, but was declared dead around 12:14 a.m.

Suicides have been the main cause of the death in the military. Eighty-two soldiers killed themselves in 2010, up from 65 in 2005.

On July 3, a Marine was found dead while on leave. He had hanged himself in a building in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.

On July 4, a sergeant in an infantry division killed himself by detonating a grenade after completing a two-day military drill.

On July 10, an enlisted Marine hanged himself in a bathhouse in his barracks.

On July 14, a 48-year-old Marine Corps master gunnery sergeant also hanged himself with his shoe laces in his office.