Delayed Reporting and Ignored Orders Again... Persistent Issues in the Military

Minister of National Defense Seo Wook is attending the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th, listening to Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum's remarks. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been revealed that the military leadership was informed of the death of a female naval officer who was a victim of sexual harassment only two days after the report was made. Counting from the time of the incident, it has been 76 days.

According to the Navy on the 13th, Sergeant A, a member of a certain naval unit and the victim, was sexually harassed by Sergeant B, a superior in the same unit, on May 27 while dining at a civilian restaurant. At that time, the victim reported the incident only to the chief sergeant and requested that "it not be exposed to the outside in any way," the Navy explained.

However, more than two months later, on August 7, Sergeant A requested a meeting with the unit commander despite it being a weekend and informed them of the harassment. On the 9th, a formal report was made to the higher-ups based on her decision. The sexual harassment case was first reported to the military leadership, including Defense Minister Seo Wook and Navy Chief of Staff Bu Seok-jong, two days later on the 11th.

Upon receiving the report, Minister Seo immediately ordered measures according to regulations and instructed an investigation to ensure there were no doubts. However, the victim was found dead the next day, on the 12th. This is why criticism arises that Minister Seo’s orders were ineffective.

In particular, although Sergeant A reported the sexual harassment to the chief sergeant on May 27, no action was taken, and the perpetrator was not separated until she requested a meeting again on August 7.

An arrest warrant for the perpetrator, Sergeant B, was applied for the previous day, and a pretrial detention hearing (warrant review) is scheduled to take place within the day.

The Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters and the Navy Central Investigation Unit, which have launched a joint investigation, are accelerating the investigation into whether there was any secondary damage while applying for the arrest warrant for the sexual harassment perpetrator. It is also known that they are focusing their investigative efforts on clarifying what happened until the victim, who initially did not want to report, requested a meeting again on August 7.

The military authorities intended to conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, but the bereaved family wished to hold the funeral without an autopsy, and the funeral procedures are currently being coordinated with the Navy.

The bereaved family has conveyed to the Navy their position, stating, "We want strict and strong punishment for the perpetrator. We hope this kind of incident never happens again and that our child remains the last victim," expressing their desire for prevention of recurrence.

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