Since the military adopted measures in August 2003 banning inhuman physical punishment to root out its anachronistic culture, Army Capt. Kim, a company commander, has been striving to ensure there are no violations.
Every night, Kim gets briefed by platoon leaders and checks whether there have been any incidents of verbal or physical assault banned under the guidelines.
His team leaders, as well as rank-and-file soldiers, have been fully aware of new directives, which list specific offenses and corresponding punishment.
But a recent report that a company commander identified only by his family name Lee at a boot camp forced his men to eat human excrement as punishment for not flushing toilets jolted Kim because of the possible damage to efforts to improve the military`s image.
"I am just worried whether all the promises to make life better (in the Army) will just sound meaningless to the public," he said in a telephone interview with The Korea Herald. He wanted to be identified only as his family name since he is not authorized to talk to reporters in person without permission.
Lee, 28, ordered 192 soldiers under his command to pick up and eat human feces. About half of them obeyed the order, though the Army insists most of them just pretended to eat.
"He might be very aggravated in leading his young recruits, but I still can`t understand what he did even though I tried," Kim said.
The incident projected a negative image of the Army at a time when the nation`s largest military branch has been embroiled in a promotion scandal.
Most Army officers, including Kim, stress the feces scandal is just a one-off incident committed by one officer, hoping it will not tarnish the Army as a collectively corrupted and irregular group.
The Defense Ministry`s top leaders have also sought to calm public anger. Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung yesterday visited the Korea Army Training Center in Nonsan, some 200 kilometers south of Seoul, for the first time since he took office last July.
Army Chief of Staff Nam Jae-joon sent letters of apology to families of recruits under Lee.
A special investigative body has been investigating all 36 military boot camps across the country to root out any lingering vestiges of harsh punishment.
But public perceptions persist that the military has not abandoned its anachronistic culture, and some went so far as to label the feces incident as a South Korean version of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq where U.S. soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners.
The incident reminded the public that old habits die hard and some wondered whether it`s just the tip of the iceberg rather than the isolated action of an aberrant officer.
"I used to be beaten by my seniors without any clear reasons in a warehouse, where they lit my face with lanterns. It was sheer fear since I could not see who beat me in the dark," said Kwon Yoon-ho, a 36-year-old company worker. "I just bore the punishment in the belief that it was a ritual I had to go through in the military."
Jin In-beom, who was discharged from the military in 2000 as a sergeant, said there were some alternative punishments in his unit such as having juniors finish up leftovers, sing songs, and remain awake at night. Also, rookies were forced to share stories about their sexual experiences.
Harsh punishment under the guise of "strong discipline" has been a constant problem in the military, which maintains a mandatory conscription system to keep about 690,000 men ready for action if necessary against North Korea`s 1.1 million forces.
Some punishments have been described as inevitable. "Some kinds of punishment are actually needed to maintain strong discipline, so as not to cause any accidents especially involving weapons, though I oppose any inhuman punishment," said Shin Jung-hoon, who once served as a first lieutenant in Chulwon, 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul.
"Such punishment is okay to me as long as those in uniform are counted as an individual human being, and they accept the disciplinary measures based on their wrongdoings," Shin said.
Capt. Kim said there are legitimate disciplinary measures such as push-ups or a road march with full gear or grounding in barracks.
Most officers are trying to keep to the rules and soldiers are well aware of their rights to maintain their dignity as a human being, Kim said.
During his visit to the Nonsan training camp, Yoon said he will take stern action against those who are involved in the feces incident, including officers in the chain of command, and introduce measures to prevent such incidents recurring.
(smjoo@heraldcorp.com)

By Joo Sang-min