On August 12, after reporting her superiors for being sexually abused but receiving no response, a female sergeant in the Korean Navy has committed suicide.
On August 12, Korean media reported that a 32-year-old female sergeant, known as Miss A, had just been found dead at her home. She was said to be a sergeant serving in the Navy. She has committed suicide after accusing her superior teammate of raping her for months but didn’t receive any response.
This knew instantly triggered a wave of outrage among Koreans because there had been a similar situation that happened and led to the death of a female Air Force sergeant in May 2021. This case was like the last straw that pushed the public’s frustration with the Korean government to reach its peak.
Yonhap news reported that on May 27, this female sergeant was assaulted by a superior who was the head of an unit when they went to eat together at a restaurant outside the barracks. After that, Ms. A immediately reported to her higher superior and asked for an investigation so that the attacker could be punished appropriately. However, the superiors of Ms. A, who were responsible for this have ignored, not resolved, and deliberately concealed the incident.
On August 7, Ms. A once again directly discussed this issue with her deputy and strongly demanded the case be resolved. At this time, after 2 months of the incident, she was sent to work on a remote island and her complaint was transferred to another unit for processing.
Ms.A committed suicide right after the government started investigating has raised many questions and made the public and the media extremely curious and raised many questions.
On the morning of August 13, South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook has held a press conference to apologize and promise to fully investigate the incident: “I sincerely apologize to the sergeant’s family and everyone. Considering the seriousness of the incident, the Ministry of Defense will set up a special investigation team and will not leave out any suspicions.”
President Moon Jae-in also asked relevant units to strictly investigate the case.
The death of another female sergeant has caused outrage in the public with the issue of sexual harassment against women and the act of covering up and hiding crimes in the Korean army. After the case of the female Air Force sergeant surnamed Lee broke out in May, many female soldiers have also voiced their accusations of being a victim of sexual harassment and unequal treatment in the military.
