Mimicking a game with a broom before lights-out... Senior soldier’s order brings junior to tears [True Story]

[Financial News] In a barracks at a unit in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, as bedtime approached, a junior soldier had to pick up a broom before going to turn out the lights. The broom became a sword, and the junior soldier ran toward the light switch, imitating a character from the online game League of Legends.
The junior soldier refused several times, saying they could not do it, but the refusals were not accepted. A senior soldier who shared the barracks demanded the same act repeatedly, and the junior eventually followed the order.
Senior soldier A was assigned to the unit in November 2024 and served as a radio equipment operator. Victim B was a junior soldier who joined the same unit in July last year. The two lived in the same barracks, and A had about eight months’ seniority over B.
This kind of abusive conduct continued for about a month from shortly after B joined the unit. While the barracks lights were being turned off before bedtime, A made B perform what was called a “lights-out show.”
According to legal sources on the 13th, the Seoul Western District Court’s 7th Single-Judge Criminal Division, presided over by Judge Lee Tae-young, sentenced A to a fine of 2 million won on August 13 for coercion.
A was put on trial on charges of ordering junior soldier B to imitate a League of Legends character in the barracks of a unit in Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang Province, between July 11 and August 12 last year. Prosecutors said that although B refused, A repeatedly gave the order by exploiting A’s senior status, ultimately making B wave a broom like a sword and run toward the light switch.
A’s side acknowledged that A had ordered the conduct, but argued that the crime of coercion was not made out because A had not threatened B by warning of harm or in a way that would cause fear.
The court rejected that argument. It found that a threat for purposes of the crime of coercion need not necessarily be made in explicit words; it may qualify as a threat if it leads the other person to believe they could suffer a disadvantage.
B told investigators, in effect, “I was embarrassed and didn’t want to do it, but because the defendant was my senior, I was scared and had no choice but to do it.” B also said, “I told A several times that I couldn’t do it, but A kept making me.” A likewise testified that B had looked unwilling and hesitated.
The court found that although A had not verbally warned of any specific harm, the order was given in an atmosphere in which it was difficult for B, a junior soldier, to refuse. It rejected A’s argument, stating, “The defendant’s order constituted coercion through a threat.”
In determining the sentence, the court weighed against A the fact that A had committed the offense against a junior soldier while serving in the military and holding senior status. The court noted that “the offense was reprehensible.” However, it took into account, among other things, that A had no prior criminal convictions.
[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter