The inhumanity must end

The deadly shooting rampage at a Marine base on Ganghwa Island unveiled the dark side of the Marine Corps, which is believed to have the reputation of invincible troops.

We are appalled to learn of the brutalities and injustice concealed behind its honorable reputation. Humiliation, beating, bullying and hazing have been rampant.

The inhumanity reached as far as ridiculing one’s religious belief. In one case, one senior marine reportedly tried to burn a bible, sneering at his junior fellow marine, who is a Christian.

The public has had absolute confidence in the Marines due to their legacy of courage and sacrifice built during the Korean War and Vietnam War.

Their combat versatility, military discipline and fraternity have been the pride of our military legacy. But behind their respected and reliable propriety have been mobster extortion and systematic cruelties.

The Marines’ famous banner cry - once a marine forever a marine - now rings hollow. A marine shooting down his fellow marines in their sleep underscores how vain and dubious the Marines’ reputation has been.

Even as the incident has exposed the brutalities in the Marine Corps, the act of killing by no means can be excused.

But the military must root out the deadly dangers permeating and sickening the Marine service. The Marines have had a series of controversies and abnormalities. A colonel in 2010 was sacked on charges of sexual harassment against a driving trainee. Recently, admirals were arrested for conspiring against a commander. The oddity has culminated with a shooting rampage against fellow marines.

It is time for the corps to recreate itself. It must depart from its deeply-rooted, savage culture of “beating, breaking, drinking and wrecking.” A strong military cannot be built on violence.

Many officers still teach and impose a mind-set that the Marines are different than the other military services, to hand down and justify their macho rituals.

The series of incidents, including the sexual harassment case, has shown that seniors threaten, hide and undermine irregularities and abuses against marines.

We hope the Marines, for their honor’s sake, revamp themselves and become reborn as the Marines we all respect.