People Power Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's defense committee, including Rep. Im Jong-deuk, held a press conference Monday urging Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and the military's top brass to take responsible action amid a series of controversies, saying a security alarm had been triggered. [Rep. Im Jong-deuk's office]
People Power Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's defense committee, including Rep. Im Jong-deuk, held a press conference Monday urging Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and the military's top brass to take responsible action amid a series of controversies, saying a security alarm had been triggered. [Rep. Im Jong-deuk's office]

A string of military controversies has emerged amid the sweltering summer heat, including front-line troops standing guard with unloaded weapons and confusion over a US military drone.

People Power Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's defense committee said Monday that overall military discipline and alert readiness had collapsed, and urged Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Yeong-seung and other top military commanders to take responsible action.

Reps. Im Jong-deuk, Han Ki-ho, Seong Il-jong, Kang Seon-yeong, Yu Yong-won and Yoo Young-ha said at a press conference Monday that "a security alarm has been triggered for the Republic of Korea" and that "the Lee Jae Myung government must answer to the public," adding that "a series of incidents the public finds difficult to accept have occurred in the military in recent days."

The lawmakers said it had been confirmed that the Army's 1st Corps — responsible for the front line — had conducted guard duty at GOP and GP posts without loading live ammunition in K6 heavy machine guns and K4 automatic grenade launchers, and that some units under the 3rd Corps had been found to be carrying out guard duty in the same manner.

They also said media reports had emerged that a US military reconnaissance drone flight plan — submitted in advance for a combined Korea-US exercise — had not been properly reported up the chain of command within the 1st Corps. As a result, the South Korean military identified the US drone as an unidentified aerial vehicle, issued the "Durumi" air defense alert and spent about an hour and a half tracking it before preparing to intercept it.

"The two incidents may appear to be separate, but they are fundamentally the same," the lawmakers said. "The alert posture has been shaken and the reporting chain has collapsed."

They invoked a longstanding military maxim — "A commander who fails in battle may be forgiven, but a commander who fails in vigilance cannot" — and said, "Vigilance is the foundation of the military and the starting point of national security. When vigilance collapses, the lives of the people and the safety of the nation are threatened. This is precisely what the public is worried about."

"While our main adversary is preparing for actual combat, we have had a situation where front-line troops stood guard without loading live ammunition and our military failed to properly identify even an allied nation's drone," they said. They called for a thorough investigation into the entire command structure — including why the order to conduct guard operations without chambered rounds was issued at the front line, why the US drone's flight plan was not properly reported, and what problems existed in the command and supervision process.

They also strongly urged that the defense minister, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Ground Operations Command commander, the 1st Corps commander and the 3rd Corps commander all be subject to a thorough investigation and held accountable in a manner the public can accept.

Specifically, they called on Minister Ahn to publicly explain the situation, conduct a special inspection and draw up measures to prevent a recurrence; on Chairman Jin to investigate and disclose whether the front-line alert posture and the Korea-US combined operations reporting chain are functioning properly; and on Ground Operations Command Commander Lee Sang-ryeol to verify whether he had properly commanded and supervised the corps units under his command.

"There is no value that takes precedence over the lives of the people and national security," the lawmakers said in closing. "There can be no compromise on security, and there must be no gaps in vigilance. We will fulfill our responsibility to the end to uncover the truth of this situation and restore the collapsed military discipline and alert posture."

Amid the controversy, the Defense Ministry said Monday it had relieved Army 1st Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Han Ki-seong of his duties, effective that day, in connection with the unloaded weapons and US drone incidents.

Army Education Command Commander Kang Gwan-beom will serve as acting 1st Corps commander.

Meanwhile, the Marine Corps said Monday that a non-commissioned officer, believed to hold the rank of staff sergeant, was found dead from a firearms accident at an off-base quarters in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.


shindw@heraldcorp.com