South Korean Soldier Kills 4 in Barracks Shooting
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean marine corporal killed four fellow s
oldiers and wounded another and then detonated a grenade in what appeared to be
an attempt to kill himself on Monday. leaving military officials hunting for a
motive.
The corporal sprayed rifle bullets in his barracks on Gwanghwa Island, west of Seoul, Kim Min-
seok, a ministry spokesman, told reporters. The island sits just 12 miles south of the western border
of North Korea. The dead were a staff sergeant, two corporals and a lance corporal, he said. The
wounded soldier was a private.
Col. Kim Tae-eun, a Marine Corps spokesman, said the marines were preparing for lunch when the
gunfire broke out.
The military has been under increased pressure and scrutiny.
Military discipline has been questioned since two marines fired 99 rounds at an Asiana Airlines
passenger plane last month. They had mistaken the South Korean commercial airliner for a North
Korean aircraft penetrating South Korean air space. The plane was not hit and it landed safely.
The South Korean military, including its marine forces guarding the western sea border, increased
its vigilance after South Korea accused North Korea of sinking one of its warships with a torpedo in
March 2010. North Korea has denied any role in the sinking, which killed 46 sailors.
In November, the countries engaged in a brief artillery battle focused on a South Korean border
island. Two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed in the exchange, and inter-Korean
relations reached their lowest point in years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/world/asia/05korea.html?_r=1&ref=asia
