"Among the Trainees, Only My Son Is Missing... Who Will Take Responsibility?" A Mother's Cry

On the 19th, the mother of a trainee who died while undergoing military discipline training (Eolcharya) at the Army Recruit Training Battalion last month revealed a letter to her son through the Military Human Rights Center.

The deceased trainee Park carrying his mother on his back during the enlistment ceremony. [Image source=Center for Military Human Rights]

As the graduation ceremony of the 12th Division Recruit Battalion, to which trainee Park belonged, was held that day, Park's mother said, "I remember the day he enlisted in the 12th Division, when he first stood at the parade ground and saluted his mother and father with 'Loyalty'." She continued, "I vividly recall my son's face when he hugged his parents who came down to the parade ground to say goodbye, saying, 'Military life will be bearable,' and 'Don't worry and have a safe trip home.'"

She recalled, "I remember the battalion commander's words, 'First safety, second safety, and third safety, and I will show you on the graduation day after training safely.' How can you take responsibility when you did not protect my son's safety even by 0.00001?" She appealed, "Will you say that a reckless subordinate killed the trainee due to disobedience of orders? Or will you make excuses like 'I was not in the unit that day,' as you said at my son's funeral? Or is your statement, 'I think I will resign,' all the responsibility you have?"

Furthermore, Park's mother raised questions about the situation in which her son received the 'Eolcharya' punishment and the military's response after he collapsed. She said, "The frame the military first put on my beloved son was that he received Eolcharya for making noise," adding, "Later, I found out that the words exchanged with his comrades were just things like 'If you become a drill instructor, you have to get up early in the morning.' It was probably just a few words considering his future unit assignment. Is that such a grave sin?" She criticized, "Without even being fully supplied with military gear, they made him carry a complete pack by putting books and daily necessities inside, made him do push-ups with the rifle held above the ground on the back of his hand, made him repeat it if he dropped the rifle, forced cruel first-come-first-served running, and endless running drills that eventually caused my son to collapse. Between the company commander who caused this and my son, who broke more rules?"

Regarding Park's compliance with orders, she said, "He must have been scared that if he made a mistake, the company commander would get angry and his comrades would receive harsher punishment because of him." She painfully recalled, "While suffering from a high fever over 40 degrees Celsius and shallow breathing with stiff limbs, the first order the company commander gave to my son was, 'Hey, get up. Because of you, the others behind can't move.' I can imagine what the atmosphere was like."

She added, "My beloved and respected son, among the 251 graduates today, only my son is not here," expressing sorrow, "My rookie son of Korea, who obeyed orders to the death as soon as he enlisted at the call of the nation and was killed, I miss you."

Earlier, trainee Park collapsed and died two days later while undergoing military discipline training such as first-come-first-served running, push-ups, and running drills with a full pack, along with five other trainees, for making noise at night during training at the Army 12th Infantry Division Recruit Training Battalion in Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, on the 23rd of last month. The cause of death was revealed to be septic shock accompanied by multiple organ failure due to heatstroke. The Military Human Rights Center is operating a 'Citizen Memorial Altar' at Yongsan Station Plaza in Seoul from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the same day. Park's mother will personally welcome citizens there from 6 p.m.