On March 6, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly dropped live bombs on a village in South Korea, injuring 15 and damaging eight buildings, including a church. The jets had been conducting live-fire drills in advance of a major South Korea-U.S. military exercise.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap News, “the bombing took place over a village in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, at around 10 a.m., leaving 15 people, including two soldiers and two foreigners, with minor to serious injuries and damaging a church and seven other buildings.” More injuries are expected to be reported, but local authorities said none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The two fighter jets mistakenly dropped their bombs outside the target area – the Seungjin Fire Training Field located in Pocheon, which is roughly 25 kilometers from the North Korean border. Initial reports said one pilot had entered the wrong coordinates for the strike; it was unclear why the second fighter also dropped bombs on the wrong location. Each KF-16 dropped four MK-82 bombs on the village, which is around 8 km from the training field.
It was the first time that casualties resulted from a mistaken bombing in South Korea. In a 2004 incident, a South Korean aircraft mistakenly dropped a practice bomb at the wrong location, but there were no injuries.
South Korea’s Air Force said it would conduct a high-level investigation into the incident and provide compensation to the villagers. “We will compensate to the full extent of the mental, physical and property damage inflicted upon the residents,” Air Force Chief of Staff General Lee Young-su said in a statement, as cited by Yonhap News.
Yonhap described the scene of the bombing as “reminiscent of a battlefield… Three houses, a church and a greenhouse were destroyed. The village was strewn with bricks and pieces of wood and traces of the explosion were everywhere.” Around 50 people have been evacuated from the area for their safety, especially as the military determines whether all of the bombs have detonated.
Further live-fire drills have been suspended until the investigation is completed. “Freedom Shield,” a set of major South Korea-U.S. military drills conducted each spring, will being as scheduled on March 10, but with possible changes to live-fire elements. As of this writing, discussions were ongoing between South Korea and the United States on any alterations to Freedom Shield.
According to a press release from U.S. Forces Korea, Freedom Shield will see South Korea and U.S. forces “execute combined joint all-domain live field training exercises across the land, sea, air, cyber and space domains.” Both South Korea and the United States consider the drills to be essential to maintaining military readiness and deterring aggression from North Korea.
South Korea’s military has been impacted by the political chaos stemming from President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law back in December. Yoon’s defense minister at the time, Kim Yong-hyun, was viewed as a key figure in the self-coup; Kim resigned shortly after martial law was overturned and was later arrested on allegations of insurrection and abuse of power. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense is currently helmed by Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho.
Just days before the mistaken bombing, South Korea’s Defense Ministry issued a press release addressing “personnel actions” against top military officers who have been indicted on charges relating to the martial law declaration. Three officers – Army Major General Park Heon-soo, the head of the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters; Army Brigadier General Lee Sang-hyun, the commander of the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade; and Army Colonel Kim Hyeon-tae, the commander of the 707th Special Mission Group – were suspended from their duties on March 4. That adds to a growing list of military officers who have been suspended during the investigation.