Female service member complained of abuse before dying by apparent suicide: rights group

SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- A note left by a female Air Force noncommissioned officer who died in an apparent suicide last week indicated she may have been bullied by someone in her unit, a human rights group claimed Wednesday.

The 21-year-old technical sergeant, surnamed Kang, was found dead on July 19 in her official residence in the 20th Fighter Wing in Seosan, some 120 kilometers southwest of Seoul. The cause of her death is being investigated by the Air Force.

Her residence was where a female master sergeant, Lee Ye-ram, killed herself last year after being sexually harassed by her superior.

The Center for Military Human Rights Korea made public what is believed to be a suicide note left by Kang during a news conference.

The note reads, "I did nothing wrong, but all the blame is put on me," and "the master sergeant takes his anger out on a technical sergeant who looks easy."

"Based on the content of the diary presumed to be a suicide note found at the scene, and other circumstances, it is believed that the reason for Kang's death was within the unit," the group said.

Kang, appointed just over a year ago, moved into the residence in January. It was vacant since Lee's death in May 2021.

"It was not until April this year, three months after she moved in, that Technical Sergeant Kang got to know that it was the place where Master Sergeant Lee died," the group said. "Since then, she had expressed her fear and stress to her colleagues."

The group called for a probe into why the unit assigned the room to her without informing her that it was used by Lee and whether the authorities were aware of her distress.
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