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Three ice hockey national team members on active military duty were discovered to have left their barracks without permission and failed to report a car crash they were involved in, the defense ministry said Wednesday.
On June 27, the three draftees -- two sergeants, surnamed Lee and Kim, and a corporal, surnamed Lee -- left their training camp in Ilsan, just north of Seoul, in a car owned by one of the sergeants, and went to a massage parlor.
On their way back to the hotel some two hours later, their car was hit by a civilian vehicle, which left sergeant Kim with injuries requiring six weeks of medical treatment and the two with minor bruises, according to the ministry.
"In an attempt to conceal their wrongdoing, they did not report the case to their superior officer," said vice ministry spokesman Wi Yong-seop. "We launched a probe into the case in July upon a tip-off."
Sgt. Kim was earlier this year reported to be in a relationship with South Korea's figure skating icon Kim Yu-na.
"The military immediately stripped them of their athlete status, and had them serve their remaining terms in the unit without special recognition," Wi added.
The two sergeants were supposed to be discharged in September, and the corporal next year.
Sgt. Kim, however, was shifted to a military hospital from a civilian clinic to continue to receive treatment.
Their superior officer "will also be subject to a disciplinary committee for dereliction of duty in supervising them," Wi said.
Although the three draftees told military investigators they were granted permission to go out by their coach, the ministry said the civilian coach did not have the authority to make such a decision.
The coach was also dismissed for failing to report the case to commanders in the unit.
The three were among 16 ice hockey players serving their military duty in the military athletic corps. (Yonhap)
