▲ The logo of South Korea's Ministry of National Defense (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) -- Military authorities have launched an investigation into sexual assault and abuse allegations involving Marine soldiers at a central headquarters unit in the country's southern region, officials said Friday.

Authorities are looking into allegations that a group of senior Marines serving in a military police battalion of the service support command at the Gyeryongdae compound physically assaulted, verbally abused and sexually humiliated their subordinates, according to officials.

They have reportedly secured statements from the junior soldiers that they were forced to eat wasabi.

A defense ministry official said the investigation was initiated immediately upon learning of the report and the authorities are conducting interviews led by special counselors handling sexual harassment cases.

"We are taking necessary measures in line with the military's manual for sexual violence cases," the official said, adding that the ministry will take strict and lawful action to hold those responsible to account and prevent recurrence based on the result of the probe.

The central Gyeryongdae military compound, located some 130 kilometers south of Seoul, houses the headquarters of the South Korean Army, Navy and Air Force.

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