SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Special forces deployed to capture a runaway South Korean soldier found him seven kilometers from the site of Saturday's shooting outrage, following a suicide attempt earlier today.

South Korean Defense Ministry official Kim Min-seok said in a briefing that the 22-year old soldier shot himself in the chest as his father and brother pleaded with him to surrender. The fugitive sergeant was evacuated to a military hospital after the incident. Investigations will begin once his condition stabilizes, the Defense Ministry official said.

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On Saturday, the fugitive conscript opened fire and threw a grenade at his unit, killing five comrades and wounding seven others at an outpost in Goseong County, near the North Korean border.

He fled the scene armed with his standard issue K2 assault rifle and some ammunition. Helicopters swept the mountainous eastern coast of the peninsula while a massive manhunt, which according to official statements involved the equivalent of nine battalions, was dispatched to capture the armed conscript.

In a televised briefing, Minkkkkk said that all wounded were in stable condition, including two soldiers who were seriously injured.

He also confirmed that the sergeant was a protected soldier, designated with an A status signifying that he receives special supervision. In November, the soldier improved to B status which means he could serve at guard outposts under close monitoring.

The runaway soldier, who was set to be dismissed in September upon completion of his two-year compulsory military service, has been holing up in the forest where he exchanged fires with the troops, wounding a platoon leader. The dispatched troops have an order to ''shoot-to-kill" the soldier should he refuse to surrender.

Tagssouth korean soldier, runaway soldier, massive manhunt