"Confiscated Phone After Exposing Poor Military Meals"… Army Headquarters Denies Allegations

On the 18th, a person claiming to belong to a brigade under the 51st Division reported a photo of lunchboxes distributed to quarantined soldiers after leave on the Facebook page 'Delivered on behalf of the Army Training Center.'
[Photo provided by Facebook capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Recently, after reports exposing 'poor-quality meals' in some military units surfaced, allegations have been raised that soldiers had their phones confiscated or were subjected to physical training. In response, the Army Headquarters categorically denied these claims.

On the 23rd, a post was uploaded on the Facebook page 'Delivering Army Training Center News (Yukdaejeon)' by a soldier who identified himself as belonging to a unit under the 51st Division. The informant claimed, "After the exposure of poor-quality meals, all soldiers were assembled for (phone) camera inspections, and a physical training routine was introduced." He also stated that phones were confiscated and that officers said, "If you report things like this, only you will suffer."

He further pointed out that unit officers continued to have contact with quarantined personnel as a COVID-19 prevention measure. He said, "Are the officers immune to COVID?" and added, "They should never come into contact with quarantined personnel, but the officers keep entering the quarantine living quarters and interacting, to the extent that it’s hard to understand if this is really quarantine."

On the 23rd, a post exposing poor meals in some Army units was uploaded on the Facebook page 'Delivering Army Training Center News on Behalf'. [Photo by Facebook capture]

Earlier, on the 18th, someone who identified as belonging to a brigade under the 51st Division reported a photo of a lunchbox distributed to quarantined soldiers after leave on the same page. The lunchbox contained no soup and only three side dishes, including kimchi.

He expressed frustration, saying, "I’m curious how meals are served elsewhere," and added, "We have to return our phones, there’s no TV, and the meals are like this?what’s the difference from a prison cell? Is taking leave a crime?"

Reports related to 'poor-quality meals' in military units continued on the page.

A photo submitted on the 20th by someone identifying as a soldier from a certain unit of the 12th Division on the Facebook page 'Delivering Army Training Center News'. [Photo provided by Facebook capture]

On the 20th, an informant who identified as a soldier from a unit in the 12th Division posted a photo of a meal tray containing rice, seaweed, and a slice of luncheon meat, stating, "Our unit has a total of 143 personnel, and excluding those excused, about 120 to 140 people eat. However, we are not even properly receiving food supplies."

Later, a soldier serving in the same battalion introduced himself and said, "The person who posted the message was identified on the same day, a countermeasure meeting was held in the battalion, and the next day all battalion personnel were gathered at the kitchen." He also claimed, "Rewards such as reading marathon leave and special leave have disappeared."

He particularly noted, "The soldier who posted the message is expected to be disciplined for violating cyber security regulations," and added, "Before the inspection, all battalion soldiers cleaned the kitchen during personal maintenance time."

Meanwhile, on the 23rd, the Army Headquarters told Herald Economy in a phone interview, "We have never considered disciplining the soldier who posted the message online," and stated, "There is no fact of confiscating phones in violation of military guidelines. It has been confirmed that phones were used normally after duty hours."

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