Army NCO Forwarded to Prosecutors Over 'Hellish Push-ups' That Caused Muscle Breakdown in Soldier

An Army 15th Division non-commissioned officer suspected of coercing a soldier into doing push-ups, resulting in the soldier suffering from severe rhabdomyolysis, has been transferred to military prosecutors.

According to the victimized soldier's legal representatives and military authorities today (the 18th), the Army's 3rd Wide-Area Investigation Unit forwarded Sergeant A to the Army Prosecutors Group on the 14th on charges of abuse of authority through harsh treatment and injury by assault.

Sergeant A is accused of coercing Corporal B into doing push-ups at the 15th Division's physical training room in Cheorwon-gun on March 9.

He reportedly told the victimized soldier, "Don't do half-rep, go all the way down," while grabbing the upper part of the victim's workout clothes from behind, lifting him up and down, and forcing him to repeat the push-ups.

Feeling extreme physical limits, the victimized soldier repeatedly asked to stop, saying, "I am struggling too much, sir," and "I don't think this is right," but Sergeant A did not stop, eventually making the soldier perform close to 100 push-ups.

Afterwards, experiencing severe pain in both arms, the victimized Corporal noticed "cola-colored urine." Medical tests showed his muscle enzyme (creatine kinase, or CK) levels skyrocketed to 77,380—hundreds of times higher than the normal range. He was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis and hospitalized for two weeks.

The case, initially handled by the 31st District Investigation Team under the 3rd Wide-Area Investigation Unit, was handed over to the headquarters investigation team in June to conduct investigations considering the social interest and fallout following media reports.

Based on statements from unit officials and the victimized soldier's medical records, the military police concluded that the charges were substantiated.

The family of the victimized soldier visited the Ministry of National Defense to submit online and offline signature petitions and complaints from about 4,500 people calling for strict punishment, while urging a thorough investigation and stern penalties.

President Lee Jae-myung also addressed the forced push-up incident at the 15th Division, along with a recent accident in June involving the death of a man in his twenties serving as a reservist at the Army's 73rd Division in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, during a Cabinet meeting combined with an emergency economic inspection meeting on June 2. He stated, "There are public concerns that outdated military barracks vices, such as irrational military discipline drills, may be resurfacing," and ordered a thorough on-site inspection regarding the reality of human rights violations in the military.

(Photo: Yonhap News / Provided by the victim soldier's family)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.