▲ The late Private Kim Sang-hyeon
An appellate court has upheld the acquittal of a military officer accused of making a false report regarding the death of the late Private Kim Sang-hyeon, who took his own life in 2022 following abuse by officers and senior soldiers just a month after being transferred to an Army General Outpost (GOP) unit.
On Friday (June 12), the Criminal Appeals Division 1-1 of the Chuncheon District Court dismissed the prosecution's appeal and upheld the lower court's innocent verdict in the case of the officer, surnamed Min, who was charged with making a false report.
Min was on duty as the situation officer on the evening of November 28, 2022, when Private Kim took his own life using a firearm at a guard post.
Min was put on trial on charges of falsely reporting to the battalion commander during a video conference, stating that "the gun got caught on a poncho and discharged," when asked to explain the situation.
Investigative authorities believed that an initial situation report describing the incident as an "accidental discharge" was drafted and submitted, and that the division subsequently reported it as such.
They prosecuted Min, concluding that his false report influenced the process before the status was later changed to "unknown" after the actual circumstances were identified through a senior soldier who had been on guard duty with Private Kim.
While Min admitted to the charges during the investigation, he completely denied them in court.
The court of first instance ruled that it was difficult to definitively conclude that Min had appeared in the video conference to make a false report, considering the travel distance between the guard house and the post at the time.
The lower court also noted that although Min made statements admitting to the charges during the investigation, there was no corroborating evidence to support them.
It ruled that Min's confession, being the sole evidence against him, could not be used as proof of guilt.
▲ A 'Monument Wishing for Respect and Care' erected in front of a GOP guard post
Upon reviewing the case following the prosecution's appeal, the appellate court, unlike the first instance court, acknowledged that Min did make the statement in question during the video conference.
However, the appellate court determined that the official reporting of the incident as an "accidental discharge" within the military's formal chain of command appeared to have occurred independently of Min's report.
The court concluded that Min, who did not fully understand the circumstances of the accident at the time and was in a state of mental panic, appeared to have reported incoherently by drawing inferences from fragmentary words he remembered in response to questions from superiors who were focused on an accidental discharge.
The court also found no reason for Min to intentionally make a false report about a fact that would soon be revealed anyway, given that a senior soldier had witnessed the scene.
Consequently, the court ruled that Min's report did not constitute a false report under military criminal law, nor could it be seen that he had any intention to make a false report.
The Center for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK) criticized the ruling, stating, "The responsibility of the officer who first arrived at the scene immediately after Private Kim's death and made a report distorting the cause of the accident has once again slipped through the net of the law." The group added, "This is a ruling where the court went out of its way to accommodate and excuse the perpetrator's intentions."
The CMHRK continued, "Friday's ruling is a decision that once again interprets the gaps created by the military's poor records, investigation, and reporting systems in favor of the perpetrator," and urged, "The prosecution must carefully review the written judgment and immediately file an appeal to the Supreme Court."
Meanwhile, separate from the false report charges, Min was previously sentenced to a finalized prison term of four months for insulting Private Kim.
A senior soldier, surnamed Kim, who harassed the victim alongside Min, was sentenced to six months in prison.
Another senior soldier, surnamed Song, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years.
▲ Soldiers paying tribute to the late Private Kim Sang-hyeon
(Photo courtesy of the family of the late Private Kim Sang-hyeon, the ROK Army, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.