'Reservist Death' Participant Sparks Controversy with Testimony: "Only One 500ml Bottle of Water Given in 30-Degree Heat"

Ssangyong Training of the Army 73rd Division's 203rd Brigade

"No Announcement of the Fatal Incident to Participants"

A man in his twenties died of cardiac arrest during reservist training in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, and a YouTuber who claimed to have participated in the same training shared details about the harsh conditions at the time.

Reservists waiting before training at the Science Reserve Forces Training Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

YouTuber Kimtor uploaded a video on May 17 titled, "I was also at the training where the recent reservist death occurred."

In the video, Kimtor explained that he, too, had participated in the Ssangyong Training of the Army 73rd Division's 203rd Brigade, which took place over three days and two nights from May 12 to 14. He added that although the fatal accident took place in the 206th Brigade, which belongs to the same division, the training content and intensity were essentially the same.

He claimed that the division originally planned to conduct the Ssangyong Training with only one brigade, but suddenly expanded the scale, resulting in two brigades participating. A division official also reportedly apologized before the training, saying, "Because the schedule was rushed, there were inevitably many restrictions on the use of hygiene facilities such as restrooms and showers."

He went on to say, "Unlike typical reservist mobilization training, this session was conducted in the form of actual outdoor maneuver training," and added, "It was high-intensity training that included not only camping in tents but also mountain reconnaissance and long hours of waiting outdoors."

He especially recalled that on the second day, when the accident occurred, participants endured grueling training from the morning, repeatedly climbing and descending steep mountain trails for 30 to 40 minutes with full gear and assault backpacks. On that day, the temperature rose to 30 degrees Celsius.

Kimtor pointed out, "Reservists are not active-duty soldiers but ordinary people who do not usually undergo physical training," and criticized, "Forcing people to hike in the midday heat without prior preparation created an environment where an accident was inevitable." He added, "All reservists were given was a single 500mL bottle of water," and said, "After climbing the mountain, teams of four were assigned to positions and had to wait under the blazing sun for more than three hours."

Assigned to monitor opposing forces and drones from his position, he discovered a drone after waiting three hours in the scorching sun of up to 30 degrees Celsius and reported it to an active-duty soldier. The soldier responded, "The division commander watched all the reservists with a drone and was very angry because they put down their body armor and weapons."

Kimtor criticized, "They gave us just one 500mL bottle of water and made us stand in the 30-degree heat. All we did was briefly take off our body armor while waiting because it was too hot, but the division commander watched us with a drone and scolded us for putting down our body armor and weapons. It's astonishing." He continued, "In some positions, there were even threats from field-grade officers that anyone who took off their helmet would be kicked out."

He revealed that "just waiting for a long time in an environment full of mosquitoes and insects was itself a great ordeal," and showed the insect bites left on his hands.

Most importantly, Kimtor claimed that there was no announcement about the fatal incident to the training participants. He said, "I only learned about the reservist's death through a friend while on my way home after the training," and "Not once during the training did any officer or active-duty soldier provide any explanation about the incident."

He added, "I was reminded again why the South Korean military is criticized," and questioned, "If you really want to strengthen the reserve forces, shouldn't you invest more in standing reservists rather than making reservists do three-day mobilization training once a year for 90,000 won?" He went on to say, "I hope the investigation does not simply conclude that it was due to a pre-existing health condition."

In response, the Army stated that the claims were not true and refuted the allegation that the training was suddenly expanded, saying, "The training was planned from the beginning to include two brigades." Regarding drone surveillance, the Army explained, "The equipment used did not have video recording capability, and the division commander did not issue any orders related to discipline."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.