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No socializing or double handshakes for Korean soldiers of opposite sex

January 29, 2015

Army soldiers enjoy reading and coffee at a reading cafe that opened near a front-line guard post in Gangwon Province on Jan. 29, 2015. (Photo courtesy of the First Republic of Korea Army) (Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — The Army plans to draw up a new code of conduct on relations between male and female service personnel in the wake of a series of sex crimes on military bases, officers said Thursday.

The Army “decided to make a set of new regulations on how service members should deal with their colleagues of the opposite sex to prevent sexual abuses among them,” an Army officer said, requesting anonymity.

The decision was made Tuesday during an emergency meeting of Army commanders presided over by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Yo-hwan. The meeting was held after an incumbent Army colonel was arrested on charges of raping his female subordinate multiple times.

“The new rule will be designated as the order of the Army chief, which means it will be legally binding,” the officer said, adding violators will face strong punishment.

While details are not known, another officer said, “The 10 commandments would include banning a male or female soldier from entering the residency of a colleague of the opposite sex alone, and prohibiting using both hands when shaking hands among different sexes.”

It is also expected to involve the “fraternization” rule, which bans relationships between people of unequal ranks.

“After a legal review, the military will soon issue the new rule,” the officer said.

As part of efforts to root out on-base sexual assaults, the military began an extensive probe and face-to-face interviews with female non-commissioned officers across the nation to find possible victims of sexual abuse.

“We see the female non-commissioned officers as most vulnerable and have been conducting in-depth inquiries,” an Army officer said.

The Army, meanwhile, said the military police sought a warrant Thursday to formally arrest the colonel on the sexual abuse charges.

He had been under emergency detention since Tuesday for a probe into the alleged crime against the 21-year-old non-commissioned officer.

The military has been under strong criticism for its mismanagement of service personnel and lax discipline. In October, a two-star general in charge of an Army division in Seoul’s metropolitan area was arrested on charges of sexually harassing a female subordinate at his office five times in August and September.