Military academy takes another hit

A 22-year-old Korea Military Academy cadet was arrested on suspicion of teenage prostitution, again tarnishing the reputation of the state-controlled training school that is already under fire for its lack of discipline.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, the fourth-grade cadet had sex with a 17-year-old girl on July 13 whom he met through a chat Web site.

He gave her money after sex, but stole her mobile phone to apparently destroy any evidence of their meeting and the prostitution.

The girl reported the theft of her phone to police and the cadet was arrested Aug. 22. He was transferred to the military prosecution for further questioning and detained by the Korean Army.

The cadet reportedly has admitted he paid the underage girl for sex and is expected to be expelled from the academy in addition to being punished under the criminal law. It is the first time a cadet of the nation’s army academy has been arrested for prostitution.

The Army has been under criticism for recent sex scandals involving its cadets.

In May, a senior male cadet raped a drunken female cadet at a dormitory on campus during an academy festival.

At the time, the head of the academy was replaced and a task force was launched to tighten discipline.

However, in early August, nine third-grade academy cadets, who were volunteering in Thailand for veterans who participated in the 1950-53 Korean War, secretly visited massage shops and pubs at night, a violation of their discipline rules.

The academy will announce a series of measures to prevent further scandals involving the cadets today. All training assistants at the academy were fired yesterday.

BY KIM HEE-JIN [heejin@joongang.co.kr]