Who were all who killed this sergeant?
The SBS 'I want to know' broadcast on the 26th highlighted the death of Sergeant Lee Ye-ram last year under the subtitle '81 Days of Hell' - Air Force Sgt. Ye-ram Lee's death.
On March 2nd of last year, Sgt. Yeram Lee had a dinner with seniors in the same unit.
However, something unexpected happened in the car returning to his unit.
Senior Sgt. Jang forcibly molested Sgt. Lee.
Sgt. Jang harassed Sgt. Lee by putting her hands on her genitals or forcibly kissing her.
So, Sergeant Lee continued to talk to him and stop him in an attempt to end the molestation, but the molestation got worse and worse.
In this situation, Sgt. Lee actively dissuaded Sergeant Jang by saying, "Can't you stop, seriously?" and "Can't we see your face tomorrow?"
However, the harassment continued for about 20 minutes, and the impatient sergeant got out of the car and asked to stop the car before arriving at the dormitory.
Sgt. Lee immediately informed his immediate supervisor of the damage and reported the sexual harassment within the unit the next day according to the procedures.
However, 81 days after his sexual assault, Sergeant Lee made an extreme choice and passed away.
The production team paid attention to the article "Everyone killed me" written the day after the incident in Lee's cell phone memo.
Who is everyone this sergeant is talking about?
On the day of the incident, it was Sgt. Jang, the assailant, Sgt. Roh, and acquaintances of Sergeant Noh.
And it was Sgt.
Everyone attending the dinner was in the car on the way home from where the harassment took place, and in particular, Sergeant Noh was riding next to Sgt. Jang and Lee Jung-sa.
However, no one witnessed the harassment in the car that day.
An acquaintance of Sergeant Noh, who was in the passenger seat, said that he could not remember what happened because of a hangover, and Sergeant Noh claimed that he did not care about what was happening next to him because he was concerned about his acquaintance.
And on that day, Sgt. Jang also got out of the car shortly after Sgt. Lee got out of the car.
And headed to the place where this sergeant got off.
Afterwards, he came to the front of his dormitory, fearing that the sergeant would report it, and repeatedly apologized and reversed.
At the same time, it was revealed that he continued to press Sergeant Lee, and in the midst of that, he even offered Sgt. Lee a hug.
Sergeant Lee, who immediately informed the victim of sexual assault.
But what happened after that was strange.
The next day, his appointment summoned Sgt. Jang to confirm the facts, and told Sergeant Lee, "If you report sexual harassment, you may be in trouble for everyone who has broken the corona prevention rules."
At the unexpected reaction of his superior, whom he trusted and relied on, Sergeant Lee received a shock similar to that of being victimized.
In addition, the highest senior lieutenant Noh later emphasized again to Sergeant Lee, "It is something that can only be experienced once in a lifetime. If you report it, it will harm the people present." Only 24 hours after the incident occurred, the report was processed.
After that, threats were repeated, not threats from the perpetrators.
In particular, even Sgt. Jang's father pressured him to "help his ugly son do an honorable discharge", and this sergeant realized that there was no place for help within the military base.
In response, the expert said, "It is enough to receive a shock equivalent to rape. This organization is trying to cover this up, so you must have thought that they were trying to remove or suppress me in any way who raised the issue. Especially when someone I know is the perpetrator. The subjective pain of the victim is much greater.”
After that, the direction of the investigation went strangely.
Only Sergeant Lee, the victim, was investigated, and the investigation into the suspect without detention was decided in just two days without an investigation into the suspect.
In response, experts said that it was surprising that the decision to investigate without detention was the principle.
The suspect was first investigated two weeks after the incident occurred.
However, up to this point, the perpetrators and the victims were not separated.
The battalion commander and Lieutenant Noh persuaded Sergeant Lee to stay.
And the military officers even investigated the lie detector on the victim, Sgt. Lee, and did not even think to check the vehicle black box in which the circumstances of the incident were recorded.
The vehicle black box was later confirmed only after Sergeant Lee submitted it.
In addition, it was revealed that Sergeant Roh had stalked the perpetrator and urged forgiveness and leniency to Sergeant Lee's prospective groom.
In response, Sergeant Lee confirmed the other side of the military he admired, and faced a situation where it seemed that he had become the perpetrator, who could not forgive the perpetrator.
An exclusive order was issued 70 days after the incident occurred.
But the sergeant's suffering was not over.
The new unit gave this sergeant a glance for no reason.
In fact, the commander, staff, and soldiers of the unit to which he was assigned were all aware of the fact that this sergeant was a victim of sexual harassment.
In response, Sergeant Lee sent a cold reaction at the time when he reported the transfer, and he blatantly gave him a face to face, resulting in secondary harm.
Sergeant Lee, who was treated as a stumbling block from the organization, took his own life 81 days after the incident, the day he posted his own marriage registration.
The expert said, "I would have expected that the case would be resolved well, my honor would be restored, the perpetrator would receive appropriate punishment, and I would be able to return to the military without any problems. He must have felt a sense of frustration and loss after realizing that, and it must have been like losing the meaning of life.”
Victim What was Sgt. Jang doing during the days when Sgt. Lee was in pain?
He did not receive a proper investigation until the death of Sgt. Lee, and while he was without detention, he roamed freely to seek petitions for his own relief.
In particular, in the process of receiving the petition, the victim disclosed the identity of the sergeant, and he did not stop secondary harm to the victim by disclosing the facts of his crime.
In addition, the Air Force ordered the deletion of the content of the victim of sexual harassment in the death of Sergeant Lee, and reported it as a simple incident.
After Sgt. Lee's death, Sgt. Jang's unjust situation became known to the media, and Sgt. Jang was arrested and investigated.
The Ministry of National Defense audit also pointed out that the Air Force's investigation was delayed for no reason.
In fact, the day the sergeant Lee passed away was also the day on which the postponed military prosecution investigation was postponed again.
A lawyer who has worked as a military judge for over 10 years said, "There is a deadline for handling detention cases. But there is no such thing as non-detention cases." I would have been aiming for an agreement next time,” he explained, explaining that it is the skill of a lawyer to exhaust the victim and reach an agreement with the perpetrator.
In addition, the longer the investigation period, the more favorable the perpetrators than the victims.
Regarding Sergeant Jang, who denied much of the crime despite the severe sexual harassment, the expert said, "The investigation into detention is common sense. It is a situation where the possibility of destruction of evidence by denying the crime and causing secondary harm to the victim is high. Also, the victim under pressure There is a sufficient possibility of overturning his statement, so the investigation into arrest is natural.”
A high-ranking military justice at the Ministry of National Defense said, "We're trying to cover up the case. Sexual offenses change after just one day. If there's been that much sexual violence, you'll be arrested on the same day. You lied even though there is a black box, but I'm still in a situation where my co-worker is being molested. It doesn't make sense to let this pass."
So, who decided on the investigation of Sgt. Jang without detention?
The expert said it was surprising that the decision to investigate without detention was decided in the morning, just two days after the report.
He said, "After the investigation of the suspect, it is understandable that the investigation proceeds without detention when the suspect admits to committing the crime and there is no fear of escaping. I can't understand what has been decided."
And many experts said that the decision to investigate without detention is made by the leadership.
However, at present, the military prosecutor and the military police are all putting off responsibility, saying that it was not their own decision.
After the death of Sgt. Lee became known to the media and a large-scale investigation was carried out late, 15 people were indicted, including the direct superiors who inflicted the second harm, and the Air Force responsible for creating an atmosphere in which Sgt. Investigators were acquitted.
And it was difficult to understand the position that it was impossible to know who made the decision without detention as a result of the investigation by the national defense officer.
In the transcript of Lee Jung-sa's father, who spoke with the military prosecutor, Lee Jung-sa's father mentioned that there was pressure from superiors, and the military prosecutor did not deny this fact.
The Military Human Rights Center also released a transcript that the Air Force Headquarters Legal Office conducted an investigation without detention.
In the transcript, there was a content that said, "The chief must have had an idea, and we, too, have to make a living with full courtesy. What should I do to direct without detention?"
In addition, the bereaved family raised suspicions of courtesy, saying that the relationship between the person in charge of the investigation and the law firm appointed by Jang Joong-sa was special.
The current head of the Justice Department at the Air Force Headquarters, former Chief of the Attorney General, is in charge of the investigation of this sergeant.
And, in the law firm appointed by Sgt. Jang, his university alumni and close acquaintance, lawyer Kim Mo, belonged, and it was confirmed that Jang Mo, an Air Force reserve officer, also belonged to the law firm as an advisor.
In response, experts said, "The issue of cartel-related matters such as the courtesy of former military judges has been pointed out for more than 10 years."
However, Jeon Mo claimed that he had never spoken to the victim's law firm and had no relationship at all.
He also claimed that the recordings from the Military Human Rights Center were intentionally tampered with by someone.
And the law firm, which advertises the successful case of having sex offenders being investigated without detention, refused to respond to the transcript of the courtroom courtesy without giving any answers.
The informant, a former military judge of the Air Force, said, "As a member of the organization, I want to apologize with great guilt."
The informant said, "I didn't know that in an organization that does 15 cases a year like this? I don't want to know. It doesn't make sense to say that I didn't know in the law office, which touches investigation secrets and receives all detailed reports. They are supposed to be aware of it unconditionally. And they actually conduct the command." claimed that
And the production team obtained another recording file.
The content of the fact that even though the Air Force Chief of Staff, Lee Seong-yong, who had resigned after taking responsibility for the death of the sergeant, ordered the arrest investigation, the former head of the department led the investigation without detention.
In response, former Chief of Staff Lee Seong-yong refused to respond, and Jeon insisted that neither he nor the Chief of Staff were aware of the incident before Sgt. Lee's death.
He added that everything the informant said was a lie.
In response to the crew's question of responsibility for this sergeant's death, Brigadier General Jeon refused to answer, saying, "The result is disappointing.
He said, "There are many stories within the military about this sergeant's death. Some people question whether the cause of this sergeant's suicide was 100% sexual harassment," he said.
Also, he never forgot to mention that he was never a caring friar.
The investigation into the arrest of the suspect began only after Sergeant Lee's death, and the investigation of related persons after the controversy began.
As a result, only a handful of the 36 people involved were even prosecuted.
As a result, the bereaved family is demanding a special prosecutor as well, saying that the investigation is insufficient.
The broadcast also raised a voice saying that a full re-investigation of the death of Sgt. Lee is necessary, and that the person who led the investigation without detention of Sergeant Jang should be held accountable.
Is that the answer that the state should give to parents who have lost a daughter while working for the country, the answer to the common sense that women who report sexual violence should not suffer more damage, and is it an army that is not ashamed to trust and entrust the lives of the people? It will be the answer to your question.
(SBS Entertainment News Editor Kim Hyo-jung)