Private says he was beaten into vegitative state by seniors

The Army has decided to reinvestigate on the case of a private at the Army Division 15 who said he had been beaten by senior soldiers into a vegetative state. He recently regained consciousness after a 19-month vegetative state due to cerebral hemorrhage.

An Army official said Tuesday, "Private A and his family raised questions of alleged assault, and we therefore decided to reinvestigate the case in cooperation with relevant government agencies." The Army hinted that a full-out reinvestigation will be made so that no doubt is left behind on his medical records and military`s investigation records. Family members can join as observers if they want to for the sake of fairness and transparency, the Army added.

The private suddenly fell down 19 days after receiving battle colors in February 2012, and was diagnosed with cerebral hemorrhage. Back then, his family found a 3 centimeter wound on the back of his head and raised questions of physical assault. But military authorities didn`t accept their claim. An Army source said, "Military concluded the case after a probe, saying that there was no assault or cruel treatment. An Army surgeon also judged there were no suspicious circumstances."

The private regained consciousness in September last year and he was able to have conversations in one year. He recently told his family that seven senior soldiers called him to a dark place 300 meters from the dormitory and beat his head with lumbers. He named these people and the reason they beat him.

Military plans to make investigations by cooperating with private investigation agencies if necessary. The senior soldiers in question have been discharged from military service.