Medical staff move a soldier posing as the sergeant who was captured after a shooting spree on June 22 to an emergency center at a hospital in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)
The Army said Friday it has punished two former top commanders over two major incidents that are both blamed on a deep-rooted culture of abuse and bullying in barracks.
It said it cut the wages of a major general for one month, holding him responsible for a shooting rampage near the border with North Korea that killed five people and wounded seven others in June.
An investigation found that an Army sergeant had been bullied by his comrades before going on the deadly rampage.
The Army also said it has ordered another major general to be on his best behavior for 10 days over the death of an Army private first class, surnamed Yoon, by his seniors at their barracks.
On Thursday, Army chief Gen. Kim Yo-hwan approved the punishment, which was decided in a disciplinary committee earlier this week.
Yoon died in April after allegedly being hit in the chest by fellow enlisted soldiers at their barracks while eating some snacks. The military says the assault caused a piece of food to obstruct his airway, leading him to die of asphyxiation.
The two generals were in charge of the separate divisions when the two incidents happened.
The Army identified the generals only by their respective family names Seo and Lee.
All able-bodied South Korean men must carry out compulsory military service for about two years in a country facing North Korea across the heavily fortified border. (Yonhap)
