2 senior Air Force officials dismissed over Pocheon bombing

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2 senior Air Force officials dismissed over Pocheon bombing

Published: 11 Mar. 2025, 17:19

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Korean Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Young-su, left, and Air Force officials bows after delivering a public apology in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on March 10. [YONHAP]

The Korean Air Force on Tuesday dismissed two senior officials from a unit involved in the accidental bombing of a village in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, that resulted in 38 casualties last week.

The Air Force said it confirmed the two officials – a colonel and a lieutenant colonel – breached their legal duties by poorly overseeing safety details. Authorities ruled that their actions constituted “material delinquency of duties” and insufficient oversight.

Last Thursday, two KF-16 fighter jets from the Korean Air Force mistakenly dropped eight unguided MK-82 bombs on the village.

On Tuesday, the Air Force said that the colonel, commander of the unit, should have overseen whether safety instructions and orders were delivered to soldiers. The authority also found out that the commander poorly reviewed the training and live-fire drill plans and deputized his job to conduct safety inspections to the lieutenant colonel.

The Air Force accused the lieutenant colonel of poorly conducting safety inspection on firing missions, adding they should have actively checked pilots’ preparation thoroughly, considering the exercise was a live-fire drill.

The Air Force is expected to review whether the two pilots are qualified to resume aerial duty next week.

The interim probe results showed that an airman in the first jet mistyped the coordinates and skipped the first verification procedure with an excuse of printer error. Also, the investigation revealed that the pilot falsely reported that he sighted the target location even though he did not.

The Pocheon city government said Tuesday that a total of 24 civilians and 14 soldiers were wounded in the bombing. The number of civilian casualties was up from 19 on Monday.

Currently, seven civilians are hospitalized. Also, the number of property damage reports increased from 152 on Monday to 166 on Tuesday – comprised 163 damaged buildings and three damage vehicles.

BY CHO MOON-GYU [[email protected]]