By Kang Seung-woo
The Army has launched an investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the Korea Military Academy, the Army said, Wednesday.
At a festival last Wednesday, a senior male cadet sexually assaulted a female junior in his room after some 20 students and 10 professors drank at lunch, according to the Army. At the time the incident took place, it is reported that the victim was heavily intoxicated and vomited repeatedly.
This is the first reported allegation of sexual abuse involving cadets has taken place on campus since women were admitted to the elite military academy in Seoul in 1998. The military police have since arrested the suspect and authorities have set up a joint investigation team to look into the incident, officials said.
“Judging from the circumstance, they had drunk excessive amounts of alcohol,” an Army official said. “We are also checking if professors and senior officers who accompanied the students were negligent in their duty of supervising students’ drinking.”
Drinking is banned at the military academy, but students are allowed to drink during events under the guidance of professors and senior officers after a change to the academy’s regulations came into force in September 2011.
According to the military, those who were in charge of the students will be held responsible for the incident if the investigations finds them to have been negligent.
The Army issued an apology Wednesday and vowed to strictly punish those involved and enforce measures to prevent sexual assault.
“A special team is thoroughly investigating the case, immediately after the incident occurred,” the Army spokesman said. “We will reinforce education programs and supplement related regulations.”
Meanwhile, there is speculation that the Army tried to cover up the incident, given that the case has been kept secret for a week. However, the Army said that it did so to protect the privacy of the victim.
Sexual assault in the military is steadily increasing, according to data from this year’s parliamentary inspection of the government from 302 cases in 2008 to 338 in 2010 to 426 in 2011, along with 199 as of June last year.