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A group of South Korean activists and politicians hold a press conference Thursday in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, titled “Can’t Be Forgotten,” to condemn the ministry and commemorate the late Air Force master sergeant who died by suicide. (Lee Jong-keun/The Hankyoreh)

A group of South Korean activists and politicians held a press conference Thursday in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, titled “Can’t Be Forgotten,” to condemn the ministry and commemorate the late Air Force master sergeant who died by suicide.

A group of South Korean activists and politicians hold a press conference Thursday in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, titled “Can’t Be Forgotten,” to condemn the ministry and commemorate the late Air Force master sergeant who died by suicide. (Lee Jong-keun/The Hankyoreh)

Shin Ji-hye, head of the Basic Income Party who hosted the event, said, “[the late Air Force Master Sergeant Lee’s suicide] shows how women in the military have to fight within the military, not in the battlefield.”

“The systemic coverup and lack of attention have to do with the military’s closed hierarchical structure,” Shin added.

A group of South Korean activists and politicians hold a press conference Thursday in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, titled “Can’t Be Forgotten,” to condemn the ministry and commemorate the late Air Force master sergeant who died by suicide. (Lee Jong-keun/The Hankyoreh)

The attendees called for strong punishment for the perpetrators and those in charge, a full-scale investigation of sexual assault cases in the military, reexamining the military’s sexual assault guidelines and getting rid of bad customs within the military.

Meanwhile, Basic Femi, the Basic Income Party’s feminist policy institution, opened an online memorial for the late master sergeant. Basic Femi plans to deliver messages to her family.

By Lee Jong-keun, staff photographer

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