Human Rights Commission Recommends Disciplinary Action Against Administrative Officer for Repeated Verbal and Physical Abuse Within Military Unit

Commanders Neglect Management, Giving Orders to Self-Quarantined Soldiers
"Military Must Raise Awareness and Prevent Recurrence"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has recommended disciplinary action against an administrative supply officer of an Army unit who has continuously committed verbal abuse and physical assault within the unit, along with recommending human rights violation prevention education for the division.

On the 10th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended to the commander of Army Division A to issue a written warning to the commander who failed to fulfill the duty to prevent human rights violations and protect victims, and to caution the officer who gave inappropriate work orders to a victim under self-quarantine, along with the aforementioned recommendations.

Administrative soldiers serving in an Army unit filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, stating that despite the administrative supply officer repeatedly committing human rights violations such as verbal abuse, physical assault, and insults, the commanders within the unit, including the company commander, did not take appropriate protective measures, and that an officer called a victim under self-quarantine due to COVID-19 prevention guidelines and gave inappropriate work instructions.

Through investigation, the Human Rights Commission confirmed that the human rights violations claimed by the complainants actually occurred. The Commission’s First Committee for Remedying Violations judged, "Considering that verbal abuse and physical assault repeatedly occurred against the victims’ will over a long period, this constitutes habitual human rights violations abusing one’s position."

The Human Rights Commission also recognized the violation of the protection duty by the superior commanders, stating that since superior commanders are responsible for promptly recognizing human rights violation incidents and taking measures to prevent further damage, it is difficult to exempt them from responsibility simply because they were unaware of such acts occurring over a long period within their units.

The Human Rights Commission explained, "We recommend that each military branch raise awareness about the chronic verbal abuse, physical assault, and other harmful practices within units, and to establish recurrence prevention measures along with disciplinary actions such as punishment and written warnings for those involved to prevent similar human rights violations from happening again."

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