Army sergeant sentenced to 45 years
Court-martialed murder suspects all convicted
By Kim Se-jeong
A military court sentenced an Army sergeant to 45 years in prison Thursday after finding him guilty of beating a junior soldier to death early this year.
The 26-year-old sergeant from the 28th Infantry Division, surnamed Lee, and three other soldiers were charged with murder and battery regarding the death of a private first-class, surnamed Yoon. The court cleared them of murder charges, but ruled that their assault on Yoon led to his death.
Another sergeant, surnamed Ha, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, while two other soldiers were both given 25 years for their role in Yoon’s death.
Military prosecutors had earlier demanded death penalty for Lee and life in prison for the three others.
The prosecution said it will appeal the ruling.
“Lee deserves heavy punishment. A 45-year prison term is tantamount to the death penalty demanded by prosecutors for this soldier,” the court said in its ruling.
The verdict came six months after Yoon’s death when he was repeatedly hit in the chest by the accused at their barracks near the border with North Korea.
The prosecution said they were eating food when the assault happened, which caused a piece of food to obstruct Yoon's airway, leading him to die of asphyxiation.
This attack was just the latest in a series of incidents where they abused Yoon. Previously they had forced him to eat toothpaste, lick their spittle from the floor, as well as assaulting him with sticks and their fists.
The military prosecution initially indicted the perpetrators on battery charges, but later brought murder charges after the case was reported by the media, which prompted criticism for their “lukewarm” stance.
“Although they knew about his fragile mental and physical health, they escalated the degree of the assaults, resulting in his death," a prosecutor said during a hearing held Monday.
“Although they may not have had the intention to kill him, they were aware of potentially causing death.”