On the morning of the 9th local time, South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook attended the plenary meeting of the National Defense Committee of the South Korean National Assembly and apologized for the recent incident of a female noncommissioned officer in the South Korean Air Force who was sexually assaulted and committed suicide after complaining.
Xu Xu said that as the Minister of National Defense, he deeply feels his responsibility. Regardless of the position of the personnel involved, the Ministry of National Defense will thoroughly find out the truth of the matter during the investigation of the incident and deal with it seriously. At the same time, Xu Xu emphasized that in the future, existing problems will be eradicated from the perspectives of preventing sexual violence, protecting human rights, and improving the organizational culture within the military through the establishment of relevant mechanisms for the joint participation of the military, government, and civilians.
Recently, the case of a female officer in the South Korean Air Force who committed suicide due to sexual assault has attracted great attention. According to previous news, in early March this year, the female officer of the 20th Combat Flying Regiment of the South Korean Air Force, named Lee, was sexually assaulted by her superior Zhang in a car. Lee's family said she reported the assault, but military brass tried to persuade her to settle with the suspect. Li committed suicide on May 22.
Lee Cheng-yong, chief of staff of the South Korean Air Force, resigned over the incident on June 4. South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited the memorial site of Deputy Sergeant Lee, the victim of the sexual assault case, on the 46th to express condolences to the deceased and condolences to the bereaved family members. According to Blue House spokesperson Park Kyung-mi, Moon Jae-in apologized to the bereaved family and promised to investigate the incident thoroughly.
