South Korean rights panel urges military academy reforms

July 6 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's national human rights watchdog has recommended that the Defense Ministry improve the organizational culture at the country's military academies after a survey found that six in 10 cadets experienced human rights violations or discrimination.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said Monday it issued the recommendation to the defense minister June 26, calling for institutional measures to better protect the rights of military academy cadets.

According to a commission survey conducted last year on cadets' human rights conditions and awareness, cadets showed generally high awareness of human rights. However, 61.9% said they had experienced human rights violations or discriminatory acts.

Most of those cadets did not take any particular action in response, the commission said.

The survey also found that 33.9% of cadets had witnessed human rights violations or discrimination against other cadets. Among them, 44.3% said they did not intervene at all.

The commission said the findings suggest cadets may not sufficiently trust rights-remedy procedures or may face difficulty using them when they experience abuse or discrimination.

The commission cited the hierarchical culture of military academies as a factor and said the schools should conduct organizational culture assessments. It also called for stronger human rights education and bystander intervention programs to prevent violations and encourage more responsible responses from cadets.

"Because military academy cadets are future officers who will lead the military organization, it is important to establish an institutional foundation so they can experience a human rights-friendly organizational culture and internalize the value of respecting basic rights from the academy stage," the commission said.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260706010001980

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