“Really?” “Finally!”
Such were two major public responses to the first sexual assault case ever, which allegedly took place in the Korean Military Academy (KMA) last Wednesday.
Reports of sexual abuse in the military were no longer news to most Koreans, but its spread to the elite military academy, called the “cradle of national defense,” came as a shock. The reported rape of a junior female student by a male senior is unthinkable even in colleges, but the KMA is no ordinary campus but a virtual military compound, indicating the seriousness of the latest incident.
Adding to people’s astonishment and disappointment were two facts: the incident happened after a binge drinking in broad daylight, and the KMA kept the scandal secret for nearly a week and confirmed it only after media reports broke out.
Admittedly, the military provides a unique environment which confines a number of youngsters at the peak of their sexual vigor in limited places and puts them under physical restraints. Nor can men and women in uniforms defy the words of their superiors without sacrificing their careers and suffering other disadvantages.
But this should not be a reason for treating sexual violations with leniency but for dealing with these crimes far more harshly than anywhere else.
Soldiers, before they are men and women, are comrades in arms who must cooperate with one another under any condition. Wielding violence against the will of others hurts the very foundation of this special organization ― comradeship ― and breaks discipline as its backbone, leading to a serious collapse of combat power. This is why the military should regard the latest incident not as just an individual’s aberration but as the first small crack that eventually destroys a dam.
It was dismaying in this regard that the KMA handled the case in a hush-hush manner and tried to wrap it up by punishing only the perpetrator. This is an incident, which should take not just the professors who allowed cadets to drink beyond reasons but the higher officers in commanding authority responsible. More fundamentally, the KMA should have enhanced preventative steps when it decided to fill 10 percent of enrollment quota with female cadets. Currently, it pays scant attention to this issue, offering one or two perfunctory education sessions a year.
Reports say about 88 percent of military sexual assaults go unreported for fear of retribution or lack of faith in the authorities’ prosecuting of reported cases. The time has long past for military leaders to grasp correct situations, reveal the reality and strengthen punishment of violators.
The military plans to increase female soldiers until they account for 5.5 percent of the total by 2016. One of the prerequisites will be minimizing sexual crimes in the barracks and on the fields.
Last week’s ignominious scandal at the training camp of the nation’s best and brightest officers should be the game changer.