Massacre in the Marines

A 19-year-old corporal went on a brutal shooting spree Monday at the barracks of a seashore sentry of the 2nd Marines Division on Ganghwa Island, killing four soldiers. After leaving the barracks, the shooter detonated a hand grenade in an apparent suicide attempt but merely suffered injury. His motive for the rampage remains unknown but it is sad that instances in which soldiers brutally kill colleagues and seniors in barracks continue to occur.

The incident is the worst of its kind since a horrendous shooting rampage on June 19, 2005, at a frontline guard post in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province. A private first class Kim hurled a hand grenade at the barracks in the guard post and then went on a shooting spree with a rifle, killing eight soldiers. A military investigation found that he was the victim of verbal abuse by his seniors. Afterwards, military commanders blamed bad customs, irrational practices, inadequate management of personnel affairs, and failure to follow service regulations. The military pledged to establish a new barracks culture yet another shooting spree occurred six years later.

The military`s top priority is to discover the cause of the incident. Whether bad traditions like beating or abuse by seniors remain in the barracks, a soldier’s failure to adapt to military life, or a problem with arms management, investigators must find why the shooting happen so that the military can then devise measures to prevent such incidents. Just as the slogan “Marines catching the ghost” suggests, the Marines have built up a tradition of strong and powerful troops. Yet how can the Marines a “powerful military” if such a tragic incident occurs?

The National Human Rights Commission announced in March a case in which a senior soldier brutally beat a junior solider for the latter’s alleged failure to memorize the class rankings of his seniors, causing the victim to undergo emergency medical care, or forcefully feed a junior in a barbarian act at a Marine unit. The solider informed the administrative officer of his abuse but endured more severe beatings due to lack of effective management. Beatings and abuse taint the beautiful tradition of the Marines. Covering up such practices also cannot preserve the dignity and fame of the Marines.

The direct cause of the shooting spree in Yeoncheon was poor management of guns and firearms. In principle, rifles should have been locked up inside the barracks, and the manager of firearms should hand a rifle to a soldier for surveillance duty or patrol only after gaining approval from a commander. Instead, anyone could get a rifle since the weapons were not locked up. In the wake of the latest shooting rampage, the military should conduct a close inspection of rifle management at all guide posts nationwide.