한민구 국방부 장관이 윤일병 사건 대국민 사과와 동시에 28사단장을 보직해임했다.
한민구 장관은 4일 오후 윤일병 사건 대국민 사과 성명을 통해 “국방부 검찰단에 대해 이번 사건의 추가 수사를 지시하고, 재판 관할을 28사단에서 3군사령부로 이전하겠다:고 밝혔다.
한민구 장관은 또 가해자와 방조자는 최대한 엄중 조치 하겠다며, 부대지휘 책임을 물어 28사단장을 추가로 보직해임하고 징계위원회에 회부하겠다고 덧붙였다.
또 이날 국방부는 숨진 윤 일병을 5월 8일부로 상병으로 추서했다.
윤일병 사건 대국민 사과 28사단장 보직해임에 네티즌들은 “윤일병 사건 대국민 사과 28사단장 보직해임, 당연한 것”, “윤일병 사건 대국민 사과 28사단장 보직해임, 정말 윤일병 사건은 충격이다”, “윤일병 사건 대국민 사과 28사단장 보직해임, 잘했다”, “윤일병 사건 대국민 사과 28사단장 보직해임, 더 많은 자들에게 책임을 추궁해라”는 반응이다.
Defense minister offers apology over death of soldier in abuse case
Amid mounting pressure from the public and lawmakers, the Army said Monday it would reconsider filing murder charges against soldiers who bullied a junior colleague who died after suffering physical and mental abuse.
The 23-year-old draftee, identified by his surname Yoon, died on April 7 after being beaten by senior soldiers while eating together. He was found to have suffered from physical and mental abuse since being dispatched a month earlier to the Army’s 28th Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.
The military prosecution has since indicted five service members on manslaughter charges and one on assault charges.
Defense Minister Han Min-koo offered a public apology later in the day. At an earlier parliamentary session, he called the case “impossible in the 21st century’s civilized society.”
“I believe that military discipline and troop safety can coexist,” Han said. “I will carry out an additional investigation, root out structural problems and take necessary steps, while concentrating on refurbishing the military culture.”
Suspicions have grown recently that the Army had attempted to downplay or cover up the newest case for the past few months. Yoon was initially reported to have died after his senior colleagues struck his chest as they ate dumplings together, blocking his airway and resulting in brain damage.
Despite rising calls for the sacking of the Army’s top brass, Cheong Wa Dae expressed skepticism, saying fact-finding is a “priority” for the time being.
“The focus should be on formulating a system in which (such an incident) does not occur again and parents can send their children to the military without fear,” presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told a news briefing.
Lawmakers and activists have also called for the offenders to be charged with murder after fresh abuse allegations emerged.
“If this is the public opinion, we will do a review,” Brig. Gen. Kim Heung-suk, the Army’s chief of legal affairs, said at a parliamentary session.
“The prosecution will request a delay of the trial and have senior prosecutors go over records to see if a modification of the indictment is possible. The military prosecution is making its utmost efforts so that cruel offenders will be held accountable,” Kim added.
But the decision triggered controversy over its legitimacy and efficacy. As Kim reconfirmed, the prosecution had intended to apply murder charges initially but concluded that it would be difficult to prove the death was deliberate.
Yoon’s case rekindled a public furor as the latest in a series of gruesome incidents that prompted the military to repeatedly pledge to wipe out violence at barracks and revamp its antiquated culture.
Military authorities said they have revealed some 3,900 incidents of physical and mental abuse in Army barracks in April alone, and imposed due punishment on the offenders.
Last month, two privates who were on the Army’s watch list for extra care separately committed suicide for unspecified reasons. In June, a bullied Army sergeant who was also on the list staged a shooting spree at his 22nd Infantry Division, killing five and injuring seven others.
(heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
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