Abusive practices blamed for Marine rampage

By Kim Tae-jong

The nation’s human rights watchdog concluded Tuesday that abusive practices as well as habitual bullying led to a shooting rampage at a marine unit last July.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) completed an inspection after a 19-year-old Marine corporal killed four fellow soldiers in revenge for being bullied and alienated at his military barracks near the maritime border between the two Koreas.

“There seemed to be various abusive measures against the corporal at his barracks at the level that ordinary people would not easily imagine,” an official from the NHRC said. “He was repeatedly beaten severely and was bullied even by his subordinates.”

Although he showed signs of instability many times, no one took the necessary steps, the official said.

“In general, the problem is that such severe bullying between marines or the violent behavior are considered merely pranks or a tradition within barracks, which they should just endure,” the official said.

In this regard, the NHRC requested the Ministry of Defense to root out verbal and physical abuse inside barracks and come up with other measures to prevent the violation of human rights in the military.