Comedian Kim Jeong-ryeol [MBN 'Kim Joo-ha's Day and Night']
Comedian Kim Jeong-ryeol [MBN 'Kim Joo-ha's Day and Night']

Comedian Kim Jeong-ryeol, 65, has shared the story of his older brother, who died from abuse while serving in the military.

Kim appeared on MBN's "Kim Joo-ha's Day and Night," which aired Saturday, and spoke about his brother's death during military service in 1977.

Kim recalled that he was a 16-year-old high school student at the time. Coming home after school one day, he found a military truck parked outside. "Someone from the military came and said my brother was sick and hospitalized, and asked for our home address," he said. "I thought nothing of it, but later found out he had been beaten to death in the army."

The military told the family that his brother had died by suicide using pesticide.

His mother refused to believe it. "My mother insisted it was absolutely not a pesticide death," Kim said. "She said she had seen the body and knew it wasn't."

Comedian Kim Jeong-ryeol [MBN 'Kim Joo-ha's Day and Night']
Comedian Kim Jeong-ryeol [MBN 'Kim Joo-ha's Day and Night']

Those were the years of a harsh military dictatorship, and the family could not even claim his body. The unjust death was left unaddressed.

Only after democratization did a government commission on suspicious military deaths take shape, and in 2006 the truth behind the brother's case finally came to light. He had died from a brutal beating by a senior soldier. The perpetrator, tracked down by commission investigators, had become a pastor. "The statute of limitations had expired, and he came forward with a confession," Kim said. "He offered a sincere apology before our family. Our honor has been restored." The family was unable to recover his brother's remains, however.

The family was entitled to state compensation, but after a family meeting they unanimously declined, saying they would not "sell their brother's life for money."

Kim made his debut through MBC's comedy contest in 1981 as a first-round open recruit and is a veteran comedian who led comedy programs throughout the 1980s. His catchphrase "Sungguridangdang Sungdangdang" and his signature "dog-leg dance" won him nationwide popularity.


paq@heraldcorp.com