The deadly shooting by a reservist during a drill reveals the military's poor management of weapons and the reservist training system, military experts said Thursday.

On Wednesday, a 23-year-old Army reservist, surnamed Choi, opened fire on fellow reservists with his K-2 rifle at the military training center in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, killing two and wounding another two. He then shot himself to death.

With an investigation underway into his motive, criticism has mounted over the military's lax regulations on training reservists despite its drive to maximize the personnel amid dwindling active-duty soldiers.

The shooting range at the training camp has 20 shooting lines, but a mere six active-duty service personnel were there to control the reservists, with three senior officers staying away from the lines.

Over the course of the attack, none of the instructors were able to take proper actions to stop him, according to Army officers.

While carrying out the exercise involving loaded guns, the authorities also failed to provide reservists with key protective gear, such as bulletproof jackets.

"Instructors are supposed to give bullets to reservists after making sure that their guns are properly fixed to the stand with a safety hook, but it is yet to be confirmed if the instructors failed to check it or if the shooter later removed the hook," an Army officer said. He refused to be identified.

Though reservists are supposed to receive three rounds first for calibrating their rifle before getting another six for regular shooting, the authorities handed out a magazine with 10 bullets at one time, while allowing the trainees to skip "the zeroing fire" process of adjusting their sights.

"No fixed regulations exist on how many instructors are supposed to be there to control shooting drills, and many details on managing the training for reservists are at the discretion of a commander of each unit," Yang Wook, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense & Security Forum, pointed out.

While serving in the Army, the shooter was classified as an at-risk soldier, such information was not properly informed to the reserve component unit, a system that effectively prevents any preliminary measures.

As part of efforts to better manage the troops, the military classifies vulnerable soldiers into three categories -- A, B and C -- factoring in the results of enlistees' psychological consultations and their backgrounds, with A deemed the most vulnerable. Choi was a "Class B" soldier as he had difficulties in adjusting to military life.

"It is almost impossible to expect tighter discipline among reservists and effectively control them. After all, they are already civilians and the service personnel who manage the training of reservists are thinly stretched," said Shin In-kyun, a military expert who runs the Korea Defense Network. "Authorities need to take this incident as an opportunity to thoroughly review the overall system of managing the reserve forces who have been left in gray areas." (Yonhap)