Rights body urges Air Force Academy to discipline those behind hazing

Air Force cadets watch a celebratory flight by fighter jets during the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy's 74th graduation ceremony in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Feb. 25. Yonhap

Some instructors at the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy abused cadet candidates during basic training, including forcing them to eat large amounts of food, a state human rights watchdog found.

The findings reflect persistent hazing across Korea's military, spanning service branches and enlisted soldiers alike.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea on Thursday said it recommended the academy's superintendent discipline those responsible for the abuse and that the Air Force Chief of Staff conduct an inspection of the institution.

In February, a former cadet candidate who quit over alleged abuse filed a complaint, saying instructors hit his injured knees and back and made demeaning remarks about his parents. He also alleged being forced to quickly down 1.5 liters of a beverage and a large pastry, and denied meals twice when he failed.

To verify the claims, the commission surveyed 79 cadet candidates, finding that 25 percent reported forced eating, 46 percent had witnessed or experienced meal deprivation and 39 percent said they had suffered human rights violations.

Other accounts described forced eating of a large pastry within 10 minutes under threat of meal restrictions, with some vomiting afterward, and being made to do push-ups naked in the bathhouse.

Finding the allegations credible, the commission also recommended that Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back establish a legal framework governing basic training, warning that cadets, who are in uniform, effectively running punitive drills on cadet candidates, who are civilians, likely violates the law.

“We respect the commission's findings and recommendations and will improve our training programs to ensure the rights of cadet candidates and cadets while cultivating elite officers,” the academy said in a statement following the announcement.

The academy added that an investigation is ongoing and strict measures will be taken.

Hazing, with forced feeding among its most common forms, has been a recurring problem in the Korean military. In 2022, the Incheon District Court sentenced a man to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for hazing junior soldiers the year before, including forcing them to eat 20 chocolate buns and an instant noodles cup within an hour.

That same year, the Center for Military Human Rights Korea said a corporal at an Army observation post had pressured junior soldiers to eat his leftovers, with the Army confirming it had launched an investigation.