Soldiers escort an army general to a military detention center.[Yonhap News Photo]
A four-star general has been arrested in a military investigation into allegations he and his wife abused authority to treat house-keeping soldiers like slaves at their official residence. He has been questioned by military investigators since he was dismissed as filed army commander. of the 2nd Operations Command.
Initially, Park Chan-ju, 59, was accused of abusing power and violating human rights, but a military court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday on bribery charges, citing concern about tampering with evidence. He is suspected of receiving bribes from a civilian firm in return for favors in a camp project during his service as head of the 2nd Operations Command.
Public anger erupted when investigators found last month that soldiers assigned to his residence were forced to collect golf balls and tend a kitchen garden. One soldier was ordered to wear an electronic bracelet for quick calls. Inspectors have yet to dig into claims that a soldier attempted suicide in 2015 due to stress and others were sent to frontline guard posts for punishment.
The Military Human Rights Center for Korea has insisted that Park and his wife had been engaged in habitual "Gapjil" which means an abuse of power such as mistreatment, arrogant behavior, crude talk, character assassination, and insults.
The watchdog claimed that an unspecified number of soldiers had been treated unfairly at Park's residence while being mobilized for laundry, ironing, housekeeping, toilet cleaning, and other private affairs. Especially, the wife was accused of treating them like slaves.
As part of his campaign to enhance social justice, President Moon Jae-in has called for an end to unfair business practices and Gapjil. In July, Jung Woo-hyun, the founder of South Korea's major pizza chain, Mr. Pizza Korea (MPK) Group, was indicted on embezzlement and other charges. Prosecutors insisted Jung and his family had privatized the group to run it like a kingdom. A pizza outlet operator in Incheon west of Seoul committed suicide in March, claiming he was the victim of retaliation by MPK for severing a contract.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
![[COLUMN] Is it worth pushing North Korea on human rights?](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2022/12/16/20221216090024187766.jpg)
