There were at least five attempts made by those in the upper echelon of the military to cover up the death of a private in the 28th division.

This was aimed to shield the military authorities including the then Defense Minister Kim Kwan Jin. There is a strong suspicion that the upper echelon of the army might have known the gravity of the situation.

Right after the occurrence of the incident Kim Kwan Jin and the chief of the general staff of the army held meetings related to army disciplines, a proof that they might have known about it.

The present chief executive calls for taking measures over the recent incident but public brands it as Sewol accident of the army version and there is strong tendency to boycott recruitment. Those measures will, therefore, be nothing but a stop-gap measure and a trick to shirk off the responsibilities.

Who will believe that violence in the army can be halted under such regime, the editorial queried.

It stressed that the above-said beating of a private to death will continue to occur as long as the incompetent regime is allowed to stay.