Sexual Assault in the Military

A friend of mine, who by a cruel trick of fate was forced to serve in the Korean military, and I were discussing all the terrible shit that happens to people in the army here.

Hazing rituals are common in many group structures from military to sports the world over. However, the Korean military, with its rigid hierarchy and limited recourse against superior officers, often results in great abuses and tragedies, many of which are never reported.

One such tragedy played itself out in a marine unit recently and was a topic of much discussion at lunch with my coworkers where we talked about the similarities between prison and the Korean military and the nature of homosexuality.

The tragedy in question involves a young man who was conscripted into the military service as a marine colonel’s driver. He was sexually abused on at least 4 separate occasions by the colonel in question. The 22-year-old asserts he had no choice because his superior told him, “Sit still, that’s an order.” The victim attempted to escape the abuse by hanging himself from a tree behind his post and cutting the brakes in the vehicle he drove. However, both attempts failed. After an investigation carried out by the marine corps, the colonel gave testimony about the accused sexual assault and was subsequently relieved of duty. Human rights groups protested that this is a great criminal offense and should be prosecuted in the military court of justice, but as of yet no additional action has been taken.

You might think that this is a sad, but isolated incident. If you thought that, however, you’d be wrong. 

Min-Sik Park, a National Assembly member for the Grand National Party who serves on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, had this to say about the issue:

 ”Despite the fact that sexual crimes in the military are pointed out as being a chronic problem every year, there is no change. To solve this problem, we need to provide counseling and education and strengthen channels for victims to report offenses as a preventative measure. More importantly, however, we need to change recognition and revise laws regarding sexual abuse in the army.” 

While I tend to be highly critical of anything that comes out of any politician’s mouth, when you see someone on the Right, particularly in Korea, talking about human rights, you know there is a problem.