Army blamed for botching treatment of soldier who died after punishment drill

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Army blamed for botching treatment of soldier who died after punishment drill

Published: 29 May. 2024, 17:04

LEE SOO-JUNG
lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr

A military base in Inje, Gangwon where a soldier fainted during a punitive drill last Thursday and later died [YONHAP]

Emergency medicine experts say the first aid rendered to a soldier who died Saturday — two days after collapsing during a disciplinary drill — was "improper."

Officers took a “considerable amount of time” to find a doctor who could treat the soldier, missing the best time to save him, according to a report from the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday.

Last Thursday, a soldier fainted during a punitive drill at around 4:30 p.m. at a military base in Inje, Gangwon. He arrived at Sokcho Medical Center at 6:45 p.m. — about two hours after collapsing. Although a military physician administered intravenous therapy to him, it failed to lower his high fever.

“It appears that high fever damaged his internal organs," an emergency medic told the JoongAng Ilbo on the condition of anonymity, adding that “officers on the scene mismanaged the situation right after he fell ill.”

He also pointed to the “two-hour gap between his collapsing and his arrival at the hospital.”

The soldier was “experiencing multiple organ failure at the moment of arrival” and “in shock with extremely high fever,” an official from the Sokcho Medical Center said.

Medical examinations found him in critical condition, prompting the Sokcho-based hospital to transfer him to a higher tertiary hospital in the same province — Gangneung Asan Hospital, which is located 55 minutes away by car.

The soldier arrived at Gangneung Asan Hospital at 9:40 p.m. When he arrived, he was unconscious and had a body temperature close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

His muscle stress, or creatine phosphokinase level, was more than a hundred times higher than usual. Doctors often diagnose such a condition as rhabdomyolysis, a muscle-damaging disorder frequently induced by excessive physical exercise or high fever.

The anonymous medical expert said that “heatstroke usually paralyzes one’s central nervous system, which controls body temperature.”

He added that unclothing the patient and lowering their body temperature using ice cubes are "highly important at the very early stages of heatstroke.”

“The ill solider should have been transported to the tertiary hospital from the very start by a military helicopter considering the severity of his condition,” another emergency medicine specialist said, adding that the Army's decision to transport him in a wheeled vehicle was “hard to understand.”

The specialist also argued that officers who ordered the discipline “mishandled” the situation as they were “not well-informed of guidelines on how to address such emergencies.”

The National Forensic Service said Wednesday that it is currently conducting an autopsy on the body of the victim to determine the precise cause of death.

Army Chief of Staff Park An-su, center, walks out from a funeral hall in Naju, South Jeolla, on Tuesday after paying his condolences to the family of a soldier who died. [YONHAP]

On Tuesday, Army Chief of Staff Park An-su paid his condolences to the dead soldier. However, when asked whether the disciplinary drill constituted "harsh treatment,” he did not answer.

Park stayed about an hour at the funeral hall in South Jeolla and met the victim’s bereaved families.

The Center for Military Human Rights criticized the punishment as “harsh,” arguing that it violated the Army’s code governing discipline and training.

The Gangwon Provincial Police are investigating two military officers who ordered the punishment drill.

The Army referred the case and records to the police on Tuesday, accusing the officers of power abuse and occupational negligence resulting in death.

The police investigators will summon the five trainee soldiers who underwent the punishment drill with the victim as crucial witnesses.

BY SHIN SUNG-SIK, HWANG SU-YEON, JANG JOO-YOUNG, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]