[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] It has been revealed that the military authorities' surveillance system did not function properly in relation to the illegal immigration incident involving Chinese nationals in the waters off Taean last month.
On the 5th, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official stated, "According to the investigation by the wartime inspection team, the coastal radar detected the related boat six times during the illegal immigration on the 21st of last month, but the operator failed to recognize it."
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the boat also appeared four times on the coastal integrated surveillance cameras at the time, but the surveillance personnel judged it to be a regular leisure boat and did not conduct tracking surveillance. It was also detected by the thermal observation device (TOD), but it was recognized as a typical fishing boat and was not tracked or managed.
The boat additionally discovered on April 19 was the same. It was detected three times by the military's coastal radar, but the radar operator did not recognize it. The coastal integrated surveillance camera could not be checked because the 30-day storage period had expired.
The military authorities acknowledged that the investigation into this incident revealed comprehensive problems in the warning operations and emphasized that they plan to take strict disciplinary action against those responsible for mission execution errors, including the division commander with command responsibility.
On the same day, the Korea Coast Guard also announced at a press briefing held in the Taean Coast Guard office meeting room, "On the evening of the 31st of the same month, while conducting inquiry investigations to apprehend the illegal immigration suspects from the 21st, we received a tip about individuals suspected of illegal immigration and arrested two Chinese nationals whose entry records were not confirmed during the identity verification process."
Hwang Jun-hyun, head of the Investigation Information Division at the Central Regional Coast Guard, explained, "All the illegal immigrants apprehended in the series of illegal immigration crimes had previously stayed in Korea but were forcibly deported due to reasons such as illegal residence. It was investigated that they illegally entered the country from China for the purpose of illegal employment due to financial hardship."
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