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Recommendation to Improve Human Rights Conditions of Maladjusted Soldiers in the Military [2007] KRNHRC 16 (1 January 2007)

While investigating complaints on human rights violations in the military, the
Commission confirmed that a significant number of complaints were related to
maladjusted soldiers in the military. However, there were no comprehensive investigations
on maladjusted soldiers or measures to improve conditions of maladjusted soldiers. Also,
as the GP fire-shooting accident in 2005 showed, maladjustment is not only a personal
problem of soldiers, but also a social and military problem. Therefore, the Commission
selected the Research on Human Rights Conditions of Maladjusted Soldiers in the Military
as one of the 2006 human rights conditions research projects. After the research was
finished, the Commission made a presentation on the result of the research, held an expert
forum, and made a recommendation to "improve human rights conditions of maladjusted
soldiers in the military" after the consultation with the Military Human Rights Experts Commission.
According to a statistical analysis on military accidents, 697 (64.2%) out of 1,085 cases
of runaway accidents were related to maladjusted soldiers in 2006. Also, it was found that
suicide and assault cases were closely related to maladjusted soldiers. Therefore, the
Commission concluded that proactive and comprehensive measures should be developed to
improve human rights conditions of maladjusted soldiers.

The Commission recommended the Minister of National Defense and President of the
Military Manpower Administration to
(1) take actions to identify potential maladjusted soldiers in advance from the conscription
phases by allocating clinical psychologists to District Military Manpower Administrations,
training camps, and drafts;
(2) encourage soldiers to use decent words to address causes of maladjustment and improve the atmosphere
pleasant, promote various communication channels, and provide military officers with
training and education on maladjusted soldier counseling and management skills;
(3) allocate more basic rights counselors and improve status and working conditions of basic rights
counselors to protect basic rights of soldiers, establish a cooperative relationship between
basic rights counselors and the Commission, and publish how the cooperative relationship is
maintained;
(4) develop measures to secure financial resources and expertise for the Vision
Camp, respect privacy of soldiers in the camp, and manage soldiers in the camp in
collaboration with their parents;
(5) allow psychology medical officers to participate in a military service suitability examination
conducted in the discharge phase from the Vision Camp, introduce a system to re-allocate soldiers
who are eligible to fulfill social service duties, if soldiers want, and improve the classification
criteria for the injured and dead to provide fair compensation to people who suffer from mental and
physical pains and gain mental illnesses or have committed suicide during military service.