Just 11 days of break is granted to a soldier (21) who lost his family in a car accident.
On December 21, it was announced that a soldier has been given 10 nights and 11 days of break from service for his loss.
Around 6:02 pm on December 20 KST, a car accident occurred 1km from the military training center in Hwacheon county of Gangwon.
The soldier's father and driver Kim (51) is in critical condition and currently receiving treatment at Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital. The other 4 passengers including the soldier's mother (56), two younger sisters (25) and (21) and girlfriend Jung (24) have all passed away.
Kim was driving a Sorento which went off the road, collided with a pole, and fell down the road drain.
The family and the girlfriend were returning home after visiting the soldier in the military training center.
Netizens are expressing condolences and demanding extra vacation days for the soldier. Some even believe the soldier should be discharged early from the military.
Comments stated, "Just let him get discharged... Nobody will complain," "There's no way he can finish his service with a stable mind," "I'm worried he might have bad thoughts during his break," "This is terrible. What is he going to do in that break?," "Just let him go."
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This is horrible and that he's only given 11 days of break from service is completely inhumane. Many people wouldn't even find the strength to keep on living after such a tragic event occurred in their life and they expect him to get back to his service after just 11 days? Unbelievable. I agree with the people who are saying he should be discharged (if that's what he wants) because under the current circumstances, there's no way that he's going to be able to finish his service because military service itself is hard enough but military service after you've lost almost all of your loved ones at once? Impossible. It could also be that he's blaming himself, thinking "If only they wouldn't have visited me, then all of them would still be alive.", which would only raise the possibility of suicide. He needs to be able to talk to someone (professionals) and he needs someone who can comfort him (maybe his friends?). I hope he'll somehow be able to find happiness again, but as someone, who knows the pain of losing close family members, I can say that it's really hard. You will never forget and the pain will always be there, it's just that you learn to live with it more and more as time goes by.
Edit: I checked some other courses and found out that the original article also states "Kim (21) took a 10-night 11-day petition in response to an accident. The South Korean military plans to actively support Kim when he needs additional vacation leaves after the petition." so that's good to know.
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