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🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Army: Pocheon reservist's death caused by pre-existing pancreatitis

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • The Army has concluded that a reservist's death during training in Pocheon was caused by pancreatitis, a condition he was being treated for before enlistment.
  • The reservist collapsed and died on May 13 while walking to a night training site during intense heat, raising concerns about the training conditions.
  • The Army will improve its medical support system, including ensuring medical teams are present at all reservist training sites and expanding the availability of automated external defibrillators.

The South Korean Army announced that the death of a 20-year-old reservist during a mobilization training exercise in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, was caused by pancreatitis, a pre-existing condition for which he was receiving treatment before enlisting.

The reservist participated in the Ssangryong training exercise from May 12 to 14. He collapsed and lost consciousness on the evening of May 13 while walking to a night training location. The incident occurred amidst intense heat, leading to public outcry and a directive from President Lee Jae-myung for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.

A post-mortem examination, conducted with family members present, determined that pancreatitis, which the deceased had been receiving treatment for prior to enlistment, was the cause of death.

— Choi Jang-sikArmy Chief of Staff, announcing the findings of the investigation into the reservist's death.

During a press briefing, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Choi Jang-sik stated, "A post-mortem examination, conducted with family members present, determined that pancreatitis, which the deceased had been receiving treatment for prior to enlistment, was the cause of death." He added that two civilian legal advisory agencies were consulted, and they confirmed the causal link between the illness and the death.

The Army also addressed claims that a division commander monitored reservists via drone during the training. They clarified that the drone was used for promotional and situational awareness purposes, and the commander was overseeing other units at the time. While the investigation found some shortcomings in medical support and safety control during the training, the Army has pledged to enhance its medical support system. This includes ensuring medical teams are stationed at all reservist training sites and expanding the provision of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) from division to company levels.

The drone used at the time was for promotional and situational awareness purposes, and the division commander was overseeing other units.

— Army SpokespersonClarifying the use of drones during the training exercise.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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