by STEVE HAN
Two South Korean soldiers died in training Tuesday, presumably due to suffocation as they were preparing for capture by the enemy, according to military officials.
The soldiers were taking part in a training exercise in Jeungpyeong, South Korea, about 60 miles southeast of Seoul where their special forces unit is based, that was designed to teach them how to survive captivity when and if they’re held as prisoners by the enemy, said the unit’s spokesperson. The exercise reportedly required the soldiers to kneel with hoods over their heads and their hands tied behind their backs for over an hour, which the trainers later realized was going wrong. The supervisors reportedly took no action even when some of the trainees were desperately screaming for help.
Names of the two deceased soldiers were not released, but both were in their early 20s. The spokesperson added that the military is investigating the deaths, especially on whether the anti-captivity training was sufficiently supervised.
The deaths of the two soldiers come at a time when the South Korean military is already under heavy public scrutiny after the death of Private Yoon, who was bullied and fatally beaten by his own colleagues. The incident prompted the army chief of staff Kwon Oh-sung to resign as the public criticized the military officials for initially trying to cover up the abuse of the private.
About 650,000 people form the South Korean military, most of whom are conscripts, as their country has technically been at war against North Korea since 1950.
