Military introduces new rules to stem abuses in barracks

(ATTN: UPDATES with reenactment of the shooting, details, photo in last 3 paras)
SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- The military has introduced new rules to help stem physical and verbal abuses allegedly rampant inside barracks, officials said Tuesday, following a deadly shooting rampage by a Marine in his barracks early this month.
Four Marines were killed and another was injured after the 19-year-old Marine corporal opened fire on July 4 at his base on Ganghwa Island near the tense maritime border with North Korea.
Military investigators found that the shooter was angered by bullying and beatings by his comrades, and the incident heightened concerns over the military's standards of discipline.
Under the new rules that took effect on Tuesday, enlisted soldiers are banned from ordering or instructing junior comrades to do something, with the exception of squad leaders, said officials at the Defense Ministry.
The rules also clarified that the military strictly prohibits beatings, physical and verbal harassment, bullying and sexual abuse.
Any violators of the rules, which are legally binding, will face tougher punishments, ministry officials said.
Officers and non-commissioned officers are required to immediately report any cases of abuse in the barracks to their commanders and take protective measures for victims.
"The rules make it clear that enlisted soldiers, except for those who are named as a squad leader or team leader, are not in a position of order or obedience, but a relation of support for juniors while maintaining respect for seniors," a ministry official said.
On Monday, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin vowed to overhaul the barracks culture, calling physical abuses in the military "criminal acts that infringe upon human rights."
"If you beat up someone just because that person is disobedient, or just because you used to get beat up by your superiors earlier, that's just belittling yourselves," Kim said.
All healthy South Korean young men must serve at least two years in the military, which faces North Korea's armed forces across a heavily guarded border.



The shooter, only identified his surname Kim, was arrested after unsuccessfully trying to kill himself by detonating a hand grenade inside a warehouse near the barrack. Officials said Kim was seriously injured, but his condition is not life-threatening.
Another Marine private was also arrested on charges of aiding Kim, who was reportedly drunk at the time of the shooting, and the military police are trying to determine whether the private had plotted the shooting with Kim prior to the event.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, military investigators held a reenactment of the shooting at the unit on Ganghwa Island with the accomplice attending, in order to figure out whether Kim was drunk and how he stole a rifle and bullets used for the shooting, ministry officials said.