|
A bad week for Korea¡¯s security forces has been made worse by the publication online of more humiliating pictures of young personnel, this time of what appear to be conscripts in the Marines. The images follow a killing spree at a DMZ guard post apparently triggered by incessant bullying from senior soldiers, revelations about primitive living conditions of enlisted men and nude photographs from a riot police unit.
Of the four Marine Corps pictures circulating in cyberspace, two appear to be souvenir photographs showing about 10 naked soldiers facing front. One shows a senior soldier looking in the underpants of a junior. The last shows a group of naked soldiers outside in the winter.
The Marine Corps said the caps in the pictures suggest the subjects are marines but estimated they were taken some years ago. A Marine Corps official said the white underpants in the pictures were only distributed until 1998. ¡°It seems a former marine uploaded the picture on the Internet when recounting his memories of the Marine Corps,¡± the official said. The Marines said any violations of human rights are strictly prohibited and controlled in the barracks, but they were nonetheless investigating.
Meanwhile, a video clip showing a junior soldier on prison guard duty being felled by a flying kick from a senior was apparently taken last August. The Ministry of Justice said four members of a guard squad were imitating professional wrestlers while watching an American pro-wrestling match on TV in August last year.
But internet users who have seen the clip have thrown doubt on the ministry¡¯s ¡°horseplay¡± interpretation, saying the junior does not look prepared for the kick.
Earlier, nude photos of six members of the 307 Riot Police Battalion of Gangneung Police Department had also been circulated on the Net. Police say they are investigating not only the battalion in question but also other police units over brutalities and human rights violation by seniors.
(Jang Il-hyeon, ihjang@chosun.com )
|
