A company commander and a deputy have been convicted of causing the death of an Army trainee by instructing him to do excessive exercises as a form of punishment against regulations.

The Chuncheon District Court on Tuesday sentenced the commander, an Army captain identified by the surname Kang, to five years in prison on charges of abuse resulting in death, power abuse, and cruel treatment.

The deputy, an Army first lieutenant, identified by the surname Nam, was sentenced to three years on the same charges.

The court chastised the two commanders for not only inflicting damage to individuals through an abnormal punitive exercise, but also reducing the military morale and combat capability, as well as public confidence in the military.

The court said a young man in his early 20s lost his life and other victims also suffered severe physical pain, stressing that neither of the accused have received forgiveness from the victims.

Kang and Nam were indicted after a trainee collapsed last May, following an order to complete physically painful methods of training on a military training ground in Inje, Gangwon Province.

Without receiving proper medical care at the scene, the trainee was later taken to a civilian hospital for treatment, where he died two days later.