by STEVE HAN | @steve_han
editor@charactermedia.com
A South Korean army deserter who fired shots at unarmed comrades near the country’s border with North Korea has been sentenced to death by the military court on Tuesday, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The 23-year-old sergeant, known only by his last name Lim, killed five and wounded seven of his comrades by detonating a grenade and firing shots in June of last year near the northeastern coast of South Korea. He also escaped from his unit with a rifle and a stash of ammunition before a siege by thousands of troops caught him.
At the time of the capture, Lim had botched a suicide attempt.
“Capital punishment is inevitable for such a hideous crime that shot the innocent,” said the chief judge of the general military court in a verdict. The judge also added that it “is necessary to hold [Lim] responsible for causing a security vacuum in military zones and to ring an alarm bell against brutal crimes.”
Lim claimed that bullying by his comrades motivated his rampage, which had been rejected by the court. A psychiatric test conducted on Lim in November showed that he was “generally normal,” although he was struggling to adapt to life during his military service, which is compulsory for all able-bodied men in South Korea.
One of the victims in the shooting was a staff sergeant in Lim’s unit. The military law in South Korea stipulates that a soldier could face capital punishment for killing a superior officer.
Lim’s defense lawyer said that he plans to appeal the ruling on the basis that the court dismissed Lim’s claims on being bullied.
Some 60 convicts are on death row in South Korea, but the country’s court hasn’t executed anyone since 1997.
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Photo courtesy of Eto.cr.kr
