Suspended sentence for a man in his 20s over assaulting and abusing a subordinate soldier during military service

The Changwon District Court has sentenced a man in his 20s to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, for repeatedly assaulting and mistreating junior soldiers during his military service. According to the court, A was brought to trial on charges of repeatedly hitting junior soldiers and forcing them to engage in humiliating behavior from July 2023 to January 2024 while serving at the Naval Education and Training Command in Jinhaegu, Changwonsi, South Gyeongsang Province. He was found to have assaulted a junior soldier who was exercising without reason, and to have verbally abused and beaten junior soldiers because they ate frozen food without permission. He also continued repeated acts of cruelty, such as forcing them to eat cup ramen and making them smoke ecigarettes. The court stated that the offenses were repeated and that no settlement had been reached with the victims.