Supreme Court: "A soldier insulting a squad leader... Even with the same rank, the crime of insulting a superior officer is established"

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul / Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has ruled that even if soldiers hold the same rank in the military, if a soldier publicly insults a squad leader, they can be punished under the charge of 'insulting a superior.'

On the 29th, the Second Division of the Supreme Court (Presiding Justice Noh Jeonghee) announced that it overturned the lower court's acquittal in the appeal trial of soldier A, who was charged with insulting a superior, and remanded the case to the Suwon District Court. The court emphasized that even if the incident occurred between soldiers of the same rank, the squad leader is clearly a person with command authority over squad members, that is, a superior.

In 2016, soldier A was prosecuted for publicly insulting squad leader B, who held the same rank of corporal, in their unit's barracks.

After returning from preliminary shooting training, A confirmed that B's shooting score was lower than his own and loudly said, "Isn't the preliminary shooting training for guys like you? If you're a squad leader, do better and set an example," thereby publicly insulting B, according to the investigation.

The first and second trials acquitted A of the charges. The first trial court stated, "A squad leader only has the authority to give orders and instructions related to specific duties to squad members, and it is difficult to consider that there is a command-obedience relationship with other squad members at all times regardless of duty," and ruled that "a squad leader who is a soldier cannot be regarded as a superior under the charge of insulting a superior."

However, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial and reconsideration of the case. The court stated, "Considering the purpose and content of the Military Criminal Act and other related regulations, the squad leader and squad members have a command-obedience relationship in unit command, management, and military life," and "the squad leader is a superior with command authority over squad members, and this cannot be viewed differently even though all are soldiers."

Furthermore, the court said, "The lower court erred in misunderstanding the legal principles regarding a superior in the charge of insulting a superior and failed to conduct the necessary examination," and thus overturned and remanded the case.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.