Last year, a Navy soldier on the ROKS Gang Gam-chan died after suffering from mobbing by his senior soldiers. The captain, who was the commanding officer at the time, and the executive officer both received severe penalties for failing to protect the victim. It is highly unusual for a commanding officer to be demoted for failing to implement measures to protect soldiers.

On January 26, the Navy announced, “On December 20, we enforced severe penalties and demoted Captain A, captain of the ROKS Gang Gam-chan, who was subject to a disciplinary committee last November.” Thus Captain A has been demoted to the rank of commander.

The Navy also explained, “The executive officer B, who was up for promotion to commander, was also suspended from his position for three months and his promotion was cancelled.” Both men were dismissed from their position of captain and executive officer. A demotion and a suspension are categorized as severe penalties, along with dismissals and discharges. A representative of the Navy said, “We imposed the penalties after strictly investigating the overall abuses and corrupt practices in life on the ship in connection to this case.” Both men objected to the disciplinary measures and have appealed the decision.

Last February, Seaman Apprentice Jeong was assigned to the ROKS Gang Gam-chan. He suffered from physical and verbal abuse and group bullying by his senior soldiers since last March. Last June, while he was out on leave, he was found dead in his home. Jeong joined the Navy in November 2020 as a language specialist.

During a press conference last November, the Military Human Rights Center disclosed the results of a digital forensics examination of the victim’s cell phone. According to the report, Jeong had notified the captain of the mobbing and requested a meeting, and on March 16, 2021, the captain replied with a message, “The captain will take care of the problem.” The next day, Jeong’s assignment was changed from deck duty to the chief petty officer’s assistant and was removed to another berthing area.

However, when the senior soldiers continued to bully Jeong even after he was assigned to a new position, on March 28, 2021, he reached out to the captain again for help and said, “I need continuous treatment. Whenever I come across the senior soldiers, the symptoms of nausea and panic attacks get worse.” But the captain’s reply to the victim was “If you don’t want to do it, just say so. Then I can’t help you anymore.”

The Navy announced, “The disciplinary measures were enforced against Captain A for he violated measures to protect the victim, failed to abide by management guidelines, and failed to report the victim’s situation to a higher unit.” The executive officer received penalties for failing to protect the victim and for coercive words and actions toward the victim. Early last April, when the victim showed signs of a panic attack, the executive officer blamed him for the problem asking, “Why are you acting like that now after saying you’d try to do better?”