Over 90% of Military Crimes Transferred to Civilian Jurisdiction Are 'Sexual Violence'

About Half of Sexual Violence Occurs Within the Military

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been revealed that most military crimes transferred to civilian jurisdiction are 'sexual violence' cases. Half of these occurred within the military, indicating that sexual-related incidents within the military continue unabated.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the 'Military Court Work Report' submitted by the Ministry of National Defense to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary meeting on the 15th, a total of 410 cases were transferred to civilian authorities and notified for investigation commencement by the end of last year following the enforcement of the amended Military Court Act in July last year.

Sexual violence accounted for 375 cases, making up 92%, while 'crimes committed before enlistment' and 'crimes causing death' were 34 and 1 cases respectively. Among the sexual violence cases, those committed against soldiers and military personnel within the military ('military internal cases') accounted for about 40% (149 cases), with the remainder occurring outside the military, such as crimes using the internet or within private relationships. The affiliation of suspects was ▲ Army 71% ▲ Marine Corps 10% ▲ Air Force 9% ▲ Navy 6% ▲ Ministry of National Defense direct units 4% in order.

The Military Court Act was amended in 2021 following the case of the late Sergeant Lee Yeram, who tragically took her own life due to sexual harassment and secondary victimization. According to the law enforced from July last year, three types of military crimes?sexual offenses, crimes committed before enlistment, and crimes causing death?must be transferred to civilian investigative agencies.

Last year, a total of 2,892 officers had disciplinary actions finalized. Severe disciplinary actions such as dismissal (53), removal (103), demotion (72), and suspension (652) accounted for 30%. Among the 705 officers (24%) with finalized disciplinary actions, 14 were dismissed and 20 removed.

The Ministry of National Defense pointed out that after cases are transferred to civilian authorities, it must rely on notifications from investigative agencies to understand investigation results, which may lead to insufficient or delayed follow-up measures such as disciplinary actions. The Ministry plans to establish a legal basis to request data from civilian investigative agencies and will consult with related organizations regarding the scope of data provision.

With the enforcement of the new Military Court Act, the original military court system shifted from the Ministry of National Defense and each military ordinary military court (30 courts) to regional military courts (5 courts) under the Ministry of National Defense, and appellate courts were transferred from the High Military Court to civilian courts (Seoul High Court). The military prosecution system was reorganized from the Ministry of National Defense and each military ordinary prosecution office (79 offices) to four prosecution groups under the Ministry of National Defense and each military branch.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense reported to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee that the Counterintelligence Command is strengthening cooperation with related agencies inside and outside the military to activate the collection of security crime information. The Ministry explained that the Counterintelligence Command is promoting the establishment of a 'Military Counterintelligence Information Council' aimed at sharing counterintelligence information with military intelligence agencies such as the Defense Intelligence Command, the 777 Command, and the Cyber Operations Command.

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