Solved case · 2005
The short answer
On July 4, 2011, a South Korean marine corporal opened fire on fellow soldiers at a coastal base on Ganghwa Island, killing four and injuring one before attempting suicide with a grenade.
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Suggest coverage for Ganghwa Island shootingOn July 4, 2011, at approximately 11:50 a.m., a shooting occurred at a coastal military base in Ganghwa County, South Korea. Kim Minchan, a 19-year-old corporal in the South Korean 2nd Marine Division, opened fire on members of his team using a K-2 rifle inside a barracks. He later attempted suicide with a grenade. The attack killed four soldiers and injured a fifth. Three of the victims died immediately, while a fourth died after being taken to hospital. One of those killed was an officer; the remaining victims were rank-and-file soldiers. Among the dead was a cousin of South Korean actor Im Hyeok-pil.
Following the shooting, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps formed a task force to investigate. The inquiry proceeded amid broader claims of sexual harassment, hazing, extortion, and violence within marine corps barracks hierarchies, issues described as having persisted over an extended period and linked to prior shooting incidents, including a June 2005 attack at a guard post in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, in which a soldier threw a grenade and opened fire on sleeping comrades, killing eight. Commentary at the time also pointed to tension with North Korea affecting soldiers stationed near the Demilitarized Zone, noting that Ganghwa, like other front-line islands, lies within range of North Korea, and that another island had been attacked the previous year with four fatalities, including two marines.
In the aftermath, actor Im Hyeok-pil, whose cousin was among those killed, criticized South Korean politicians who had evaded their own conscription service for their roles in addressing the shooting's aftermath. The Marine Corps authorities announced a 100-day program intended to promote a healthier and safer military culture within barracks, along with plans to discharge and transfer marines responsible for violent conduct.
On January 13, 2012, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps General Military Court sentenced Kim Minchan to death and Jung Joonhyeok, who had been arrested and indicted on suspicion of killing a higher officer, to 20 years' imprisonment. Both appealed. On July 10, 2012, the Ministry of National Defense High Military Court upheld Kim Minchan's death sentence, dismissing his appeal, but reduced Jung Joonhyeok's sentence to 10 years' imprisonment. This second ruling was finalized by the Supreme Court on January 24, 2013.
Shooting occurs at a coastal marine base on Ganghwa Island; four soldiers killed, one injured, and the perpetrator attempts suicide with a grenade.
A separate incident at a guard post in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, kills eight soldiers, later cited as part of a pattern of barracks violence.
Republic of Korea Marine Corps General Military Court sentences Kim Minchan to death and Jung Joonhyeok to 20 years' imprisonment.
Ministry of National Defense High Military Court upholds Kim Minchan's death sentence and reduces Jung Joonhyeok's sentence to 10 years.
Supreme Court finalizes the second ruling.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Soldier (19) injured in the shooting.[3]
Soldier (20) killed in the shooting.[3]
Soldier (20) killed in the shooting.[3]
Soldier (25) killed in the shooting.[3]
Soldier (21) killed in the shooting.[3]
Marine (20) arrested and indicted on suspicion of killing a higher officer; initially sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment, reduced to 10 years on appeal, finalized by the Supreme Court.[3]
South Korean marine corporal (19) convicted and sentenced to death for the shooting; sentence upheld on appeal and finalized by the Supreme Court.[3]
From the record
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SOLVEDListenGanghwa County, Incheon, South Korea · 1950s
Between 6 and 9 January 1951, South Korean military, police, and pro-South Korean militia forces killed an estimated 212 to 1,300 unarmed civilians in Ganghwa county, Incheon, accusing victims of having collaborated with North Korean forces during the occupation period.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons (US Army portrait — likely public domain)Public domainSourceSOLVEDListenJoint Security Area, Korean Demilitarized Zone · 1970s
On August 18, 1976, North Korean soldiers killed US Army Captain Arthur Bonifas and First Lieutenant Mark Barrett with axes during a tree-trimming dispute in the Joint Security Area of the Korean DMZ, prompting a major US/South Korean show of force three days later.
Image recordCC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenGeumjeong Cave, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea · 1950s
Between 9 and 31 October 1950, police in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, summarily executed 153 unarmed civilians and their family members at a former gold mine on suspicion of sympathizing with North Korea, following the Second Battle of Seoul.
Credit: nrkbetaCC BY-SA 2.0SourceSOLVEDListenOslo and Utøya, Norway · 2011
On 22 July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik detonated a car bomb in Oslo's government quarter, killing 8, then carried out a mass shooting at a Workers' Youth League (AUF) summer camp on the island of Utøya, killing 69. He was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 21 years of preventive detention, Norway's maximum sentence.
Credit: Hwy43CC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenJames Roszko's farm near Rochfort Bridge, north of Mayerthorpe, Alberta · 2005
On March 3, 2005, James Roszko shot and killed four RCMP constables at his farm near Mayerthorpe, Alberta, before killing himself; two men who helped him return to the property later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Credit: BenchillCC BY-SA 3.0SourceOVERTURNEDListen65 Every Street, Andersons Bay, Dunedin · 2007
In June 1994, five members of the Bain family, parents Robin and Margaret and three of their children, Arawa, Laniet and Stephen, were shot dead at their home in Dunedin, New Zealand. Eldest son David Bain was convicted in 1995, but the Privy Council quashed his convictions in 2007 and he was acquitted on all counts at a 2009 retrial; the case remains publicly disputed.
