Army-affiliated messaging platform accused of deleting posts about soldier's death

This screenshot shows that multiple posts have been hidden from view on platform The Camp. (The Camp)

With the South Korean Army in the hot seat over a recent trainee soldier's death during a pack drill, a number of online users here have recently been accusing a website affiliated with the military of deleting or hiding posts that are openly critical toward the military concerning the controversial death.

As of Friday morning, multiple posts criticizing the Army for the supposed censoring have been uploaded in the Free Talk section of The Camp, a communication platform with the cooperation of the Army for messaging soldiers.

A conscripted soldier of the 12th Infantry Division collapsed during a disciplinary drill last Thursday and died two days later. The Army admitted that there were violations of unspecified military regulations. The case is currently under investigation for possible abuse of power and death by occupational negligence, with suspicion that the commander who ordered the pack drill had deliberately ignored the deteriorating physical condition of the victim.

In the public furor that has followed the incident, the Army has faced severe criticism, and the personal information of the commander in question is already circulating on the internet. Users of The Camp have claimed that their posts critical of the Army have been deleted.

As of Friday morning, multiple posts on the platform were hid from view, citing regulations. The deleted posts included one written by a person claiming to be the father of one of the six trainee soldiers who went through the pack drill last week together with the soldier who passed away.

The website said the deletion of the posts was because the users had been spreading unconfirmed information, though it did not elaborate what kind of information it was referring to.

"There have been users who recently joined (The Camp) and have consistently uploaded content that violates the regulations, some of whom have caused disputes by delivering unverified information or by using expletives, which led to these cases being reported (to the operators)," The Camp's operator said in a notice posted on the platform.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)