An army nurse officer has been arrested by the military prosecutor's office on suspicion of deserting duty and illegally distributing medicine without the approval of the army chief of staff.
The 20-something-year-old female nurse officer, identified as A, is accused of deserting duty during working hours without the permission of her commanding officer (battalion commander) and illegally distributing medicine without the approval of the army chief of staff.
The military prosecutor's office began an investigation on A on 5th and conducted an interrogation on the 6th.
A's lawyer, Kim Kyung-ho, said on the 6th, "The interrogation was held yesterday, but it was not finished. We plan to submit additional opinion statements and other documents to exercise our defense rights."
A said that she visited the 5th Infantry Division's new training center not to see Jin, but because she was asked to cooperate with the work of a nurse officer at the unit. She also said that she had reported to the medical team leader (army physician) twice in advance, so it was not desertion. In addition, she denied the allegation of illegal distribution of medicine, saying that the army regulations stipulate that nurse officers are the first managers of medical equipment and materials, and that she has inputted the change of management in the computer.
Kim said, "In the case of Lieutenant A, the medical team leader is the first appraiser and the commander of the medical team. In accordance with the regulations on the delegation and entrustment of administrative authority, the responsibility for the handling of the business of the medical team will be with the medical team leader. The battalion commander will be responsible for supervising the medical team and exercising the authority of the medical team business with the name of the medical team leader."
He then asked, "For example, if a quartermaster in a company needs to go out to another division for 1 hour to cooperate with the work that has been done every year, is it 'desertion' if he goes without reporting to the battalion commander instead of reporting to the company commander?" He also denied the allegation of illegal distribution of medicine, saying that the military regulations stipulate that nurse officers are the first managers of medical equipment and materials, and that she has inputted the change of management in the computer.
He said, "This incident is a result of misunderstanding and confusion of the difference in the nature of these tasks. The fact that the trip was long, interfered with the current work, and also applied for a business trip and the battalion commander approved it is a different matter."
Meanwhile, a media outlet reported in early June that nurse officer A visited the 5th Infantry Division's unit without permission in mid-January to see Jin, who was serving there, and gave him a second dose of the epidemic hemorrhagic fever vaccination. This raised suspicions that A had deserted her duty and illegally distributed medicine.
According to A, she was waiting for the final results and the convening of the disciplinary committee after completing the first inspection by the inspection team and the second investigation by the legal department on the same content of the complaint submitted to the military in March. However, she was informed on June 16 that the disciplinary committee would be held, but the day before, the military authorities informed her that the disciplinary committee was canceled and that the military prosecutor's office had been requested to investigate.
https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/052/0001906301?sid=102
