First of all you have to be stupid to believe you are being drafted into the military based on a random text message that pops up on your phone. With that said the prankster deserves whatever punishment the authorities give him:
South Korean police vowed Sunday to sternly take action against the spread of groundless draft rumors amid escalating tensions between the two Koreas.
The move came after a series of false conscription text messages and rumors were massively circulated after the North fired artillery across the border last Thursday.
A 23-year-old college student surnamed Kim was arrested Thursday for spreading massive draft texts. The message said “discharged men aged between 21 and 33 will be drafted once the war is imminent,” adding that all should check their designated military camp’s website on the ministry’s homepage once the war declaration is confirmed. The message was sent under the name of the Defense Ministry.
Kim reportedly claimed that it was a prank. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link.
A group of Army soldiers attends a ceremony in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, on Aug. 4, 2015, to have a patch of the Korean national flag, or Taegeukgi, attached to their uniforms. The Defense Ministry has instructed the Army to attach the flag to the uniforms of all military soldiers starting this month as part of efforts to raise their patriotism and mark the 70th anniversary on Aug. 15 of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonization. (Yonhap)
Hopefully these ROK soldiers legs are able to be saved:
Two soldiers were seriously wounded in what is believed to be a landmine explosion in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone, the military said Tuesday.
The explosion took place on the southern side of the DMZ in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, at 7:40 a.m. while the two Army staff sergeants carried out a search mission there, according to the military.
The explosion nearly severed the soldiers’ legs and they were rushed to a military hospital, the military said, adding that they are not in critical condition.
“There’s not the possibility of North Korea’s involvement,” a military official said. Possibly a landmine is the cause of the explosion, he noted. [Korea Times]
In recent years the mass shootings perpetuated by ROK Army personnel on their fellow soldiers has been widely documented to include the latest case where a soldier killed 5 of his comrades. The prosecutor is asking for the death penalty in that case. The killers usually blame bullying for the mass shootings. This has caused the ROK Army to do a lot of introspection in regards to the culture of bullying in the ranks. The recent media attention on mass shootings makes it appear as if this is something new. However, as I was browsing through the digital archives of the Stars & Stripes newspaper I noticed this article from June 3, 1968 that shows that mass shootings perpetuated by ROK Army soldiers is not something new:
This case is worse than the recent ROK Army cases because he attacked a crowded movie theater which killed 5 people and wounded 43. Then what is up with this guy’s girlfriend wanting to marry him before being executed? Especially when she was dating another man?
Anyway what I found most interesting about this was that all the way back in 1968 the ROK Army was talking about routine mental testing of recruits. The ROK Army is making the same efforts today though one former ROK Army soldier in his opinion says the tests are a joke. I think what this shows that is unfortunately hard to quantify too crazy to serve in the military with a test until people actually do something crazy. That was true back in 1968 and still true today.
A soldier is checked for a fever at the Army’s Special Warfare Command in Seoul on June 16, 2015, before he participates in a field training exercise, as a precaution against the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). As of that day, South Korea had confirmed four additional cases of the viral respiratory illness with three more deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 154 with 19 deaths. (Yonhap)
A South Korean Army chaplain offers a prayer to an injured solider as he takes part in a field training exercise for South Korean and U.S. military chaplains at the Army’s Special Warfare Command in Seoul on June 16, 2015. (Yonhap)
A South Korean soldier wears a military uniform with a patch of his unit during a ceremony at Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, just north of Seoul, on June 3, 2015, to mark the formation of a landmark South Korean-U.S. combined division. The division will consist of a brigade from the South Korean Army and the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, with each entity to carry out normal duties in its assigned area during peacetime. (Yonhap)
Gen. Kim Hyun-jip (R), the commander of the South Korean Army’s 3rd field battle forces, shakes hands with Maj. Gen. Theodore Martin, the commander of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, during a ceremony at Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, just north of Seoul, on June 3, 2015, to mark the formation of a landmark South Korean-U.S. combined division. The division will consist of a brigade from the South Korean Army and the U.S. 2nd Infantry, with each entity to carry out normal duties in its assigned area during peacetime. (Yonhap)
South Korean actor Song Joong-ki salutes reporters and fans near a military unit in Goseong on South Korea’s east coast on May 26, 2015, as he is discharged from the Army after spending 21 months in military service. (Yonhap)
This type of blue on blue shooting is unfortunately becoming a somewhat annual occurrence in the ROK Army:
Two died and three injured in what is believed to be a shooting spree at around 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday during a reserve forces training session at a military base located in Seocho District, southeastern Seoul.
The suspect, one of reserve forces trainees, is known to have killed himself with the weapon after the incident, according to the Army.
“During a zeroing fire session, a trainee fired a rifle at fellow soldiers which killed one and injured four others,” said an Army officer after the shooting spree. “Death toll may rise as well.”
The injured are being evacuated to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital. Two of the injured were in critical condition and one of them died after the Army’s announcement.
The Army is still on an internal investigation. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
