Company Commander in 'Eolcharye Death' Case Tells Bereaved Family, "Did Not Make Them Line Up First-Come, First-Served"

Military Human Rights Center "Hiding and Downplaying the Perpetrator's Actions"
"Lies Influenced Trainee's Death in Various Ways"

Captain A, the company commander of the 12th Army Division Recruit Training Battalion, who is accused of ordering military discipline training (physical punishment) that led to the death of a recruit, allegedly downplayed the intensity of the training to the bereaved family at the time of the incident. On the morning of the 24th, the Military Human Rights Center held a press conference at their office in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and released a recording of a conversation between the bereaved family and Captain A on May 24, the day after recruit Park Tae-in collapsed.

When the bereaved family asked how many laps around the training ground the recruit was made to run, Captain A replied, "I ordered three laps," adding, "He collapsed after running about one or two laps, around 50 meters into the third lap."

The company commander is leaving the court after completing the pre-trial detention hearing held at Chuncheon District Court on the 21st of last month, on charges of conducting military discipline training in violation of regulations related to the death of a recruit in the Army's 12th Division.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The bereaved family then asked, "So, did they run quickly like a race?" The company commander responded, "No," and said, "At the time he collapsed, we did not make them race. I told them to run properly in formation together," and "I did not control the speed."

However, the investigation revealed that Captain A had the recruits run one lap around the training ground in full combat gear in a race format, and then consecutively ordered three laps of push-ups and running.

Regarding this, the Center stated, "At the very least, the company commander concealed and downplayed his wrongdoing until the point he explained the situation to the bereaved family," and pointed out, "Since he lied so openly even in front of the bereaved family, it is unlikely that he fully disclosed the abuse to the platoon leader or military doctor immediately after the incident."

Im Tae-hoon, Director of the Military Human Rights Center, holding a press conference
[Photo by Yonhap News]

They continued, "Such lies by the company commander were likely conveyed to the military doctor as well," and speculated, "The military doctor probably reported the patient's condition to the Armed Forces Medical Command Medical Situation Center based on distorted information and received evacuation instructions, and doctors at Sokcho Medical Center and Gangneung Asan Hospital were also informed of the patient’s condition based on distorted information."

They emphasized, "In this way, the company commander not only tried to hide his guilt by deceiving the bereaved family but also caused confusion in medical judgment and negatively affected the initial evacuation of the patient, thereby contributing multiple factors to the recruit’s death."

Meanwhile, Captain A and the deputy company commander (25 years old, lieutenant) were arrested and indicted on the 15th for violating regulations during military discipline training of six recruits at the 12th Division Recruit Training Battalion in Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, on May 23, and failing to take appropriate measures for recruit Park who collapsed, resulting in his death (charges of abuse resulting in death and abuse of authority through harsh treatment).