In the 15th Division of the Army in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, a controversy surrounding the 'basic physical strength of soldiers' continues following an incident in which a soldier suffered an injury that caused his muscles to melt due to a senior officer's forced push-ups.
In this case, the key issues are the forced push-up method by the executives, who ignored the victim's request to stop, and whether or not the victim's condition was taken into consideration at the time, but a somewhat different and wasteful debate is taking place online.
Accordingly, experts say that military authorities must make practical efforts to continue education to change the 'level of consciousness' by looking at barrack culture to reflect the trend of social change and to prevent recurrence.
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The reactions of netizens who heard the news of the incident were largely divided into two.
There appears to be a conflict between the opinion that questions the physical strength of the soldiers, saying, "Does 100 constitute cruelty?" and the opinion that "It is an outdated barracks culture to view soldiers with different physical abilities by the same standards and force them to do things."
Those who take issue with soldiers' lack of basic physical strength tend to focus on the physical strength level of the military these days, linking it to the perception of the problem that "the military has become too weak these days," based on their past military service experience.
On the other hand, those who see it as a remnant of an old-fashioned barracks culture focus on the act of forcing push-ups, saying, "Excessive force does not increase combat power, but rather injures the soldier."
This point goes beyond simply the debate surrounding the appropriateness of 'forced push-ups' and shows a cross-section of the conflict between the level of physical strength that soldiers should have, their human rights, and social awareness of the changed barrack culture.
Choi Ki-il, a professor of military studies at Sangji University, emphasized in a phone call with Yonhap News on the 2nd, "We should focus on the cause and background of the incident, and should not compare the physical strength of today's soldiers with those of past generations."
He also advised, “Those who have served in the military these days think they know about the military, but they look at the standards of 10 or 20 years ago as a yardstick.” He also advised, “As the physical strength and consciousness of soldiers are different from the past, barrack culture also needs to be viewed to reflect social trends and changes in the level of consciousness.”
The CEO of 'Together', a military damage healing center, said, "Each soldier has a different constitution and physical condition, but because we approach it with the outdated and uniform standard of 'A soldier must have this level of physical strength,' accidents continue to occur. I would like to ask if you can say the same when you have experienced it yourself under the name of physical training."
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Regardless of the controversy over the level of physical fitness required by the military, experts agree that since rhabdomyolysis is not a disease that can be explained simply by the number of exercises, training tailored to the soldier's physical strength level is needed more than anything else.
A sports medicine specialist said, “You might think that adult men can’t do even 100 push-ups, but in fact, there are many people in their 20s and 30s who can only do a few push-ups.”
This specialist said, “I don’t know if you did 100 exercises divided into 10 sets, but there are few people who can do 100 exercises at a time, even those who have been exercising regularly,” and warned, “Since each person’s physical condition is different, even men in their 20s can develop rhabdomyolysis.”
In fact, according to the military physical fitness test standard, the passing standards for men under the age of 25 are divided into special grade if they exceed 72 points in 2 minutes, grade 1 if they do 64 to 71 points, level 2 if they do 56 to 63 points, and level 3 if they do 48 to 55 points.
A sports medicine specialist explained, “If the executive had pressed down hard from above, it would have had a greater effect on muscle damage, as it would have been like doing push-ups with a heavy weight on the back.”
Kang Seok-min, an attorney at Baeksang Law Firm who has been working in the field of military incidents and accidents and military human rights for a long time, also said, "No matter how basic rights are restricted and physical freedom is restricted, we cannot say that training to the extent of causing serious illness is tolerated," adding, "Providing training appropriate to one's physical strength is a priority."
Attorney Kang mentioned a case in which rhabdomyolysis appeared in a trainee who died in May 2024 due to military training (aka Eolchalyeo) that violated regulations, and emphasized, "It is a very serious disease."
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However, some point out that no matter how detailed the system and regulations are, if the will to put them into practice in the field is not supported, similar incidents may be repeated.
Professor Choi Ki-il said, “No matter how good the system is, it is useless if you don’t put in the effort,” and added, “The military consciousness structure is still not changing.”
The analysis is that although people's interest, will, and action are important in managing military personnel, protecting human rights, and cultivating knowledge as democratic citizens in uniform, efforts for these are not being followed.
Professor Choi said, "It cannot be said that the military does not make efforts, and the military cannot take responsibility for all incidents and accidents caused by personal misconduct," but added, "The military needs to think about further upgrading the control system that can prevent individual deviations and illegal acts, and provide mental education to change consciousness."
He said, “It may be cliché, but without attention and effort, unit management is useless no matter how good the system is,” and repeatedly emphasized, “We must recognize the importance not only during accidents, but also during normal times and provide regular training.”
Meanwhile, at the Cabinet meeting and emergency economic review meeting presided over at the Blue House on this day, President Lee Jae-myung said about the recent death of a reservist in his 20s at the 73rd Division of the Army in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do, as well as the forced push-up incident at the 15th Division, "There are concerns among the public that old-fashioned military barrack practices such as irrational behavior may be emerging."
In particular, he emphasized, "The military is of course no exception to the principle that the human rights and safety of citizens are the top priority," and added, "Furthermore, it is the nation's duty to take full responsibility and guarantee the rights of young soldiers who dedicate their precious youth to the national community."
At the same time, he asked, “Please closely inspect the field to see whether such an anachronistic perception that the entire military can neglect the human rights of soldiers still persists within the military.”
