[Breaking] '22nd Division Commander Dismissed and 8th Corps Commander Severely Warned' Related to 'Defection by Swimming'

General Park Jung-hwan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attended the National Defense Committee plenary session at the National Assembly on the 17th and reported on the situation of the defector from the 22nd Division. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Army’s 22nd Division Commander was relieved of his post and the 8th Corps Commander was sternly warned for failing to maintain vigilance during the incident of a North Korean man’s ‘swimming defection.’

On the 4th, the Ministry of National Defense announced, “Based on the joint investigation results regarding situation response, and the management of sluice gates and drainage channel security facilities, personnel actions were taken against 24 individuals involved.”

The 22nd Division Commander was relieved of his post due to direct command responsibility for inadequate coastal surveillance operations and negligence in supervising the management of sluice gates and drainage channels. Additionally, the brigade commander of the unit, former and current battalion commanders, and the East Sea Joint Operations Support Office chief will also be referred to the disciplinary committee for the same reasons.

Furthermore, 18 others with direct or indirect responsibility related to situation response and sluice gate and drainage channel management were delegated personnel actions by the Ground Operations Command. It is reported that one enlisted soldier is among them. The Ministry of National Defense stated that measures will be taken according to the severity of the mistakes.

The 8th Corps Commander, the superior unit commander, will receive a written stern warning from the Army Chief of Staff for command responsibility over inadequate coastal surveillance and anti-infiltration operations. This has sparked criticism inside and outside the military, comparing it to the June 2019 incident when the 8th Corps Commander was relieved of his post following the defection of a North Korean small wooden boat at Samcheok Port, with some calling it a “rubber-band punishment standard.” At that time, even former Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyung-doo issued an ‘apology statement.’

Regarding this, a Ministry of National Defense official said, “At that time, the corps commander was held responsible for failing to supervise the division’s operations against ship infiltration despite being aware of their negligence, and for not activating the thermal observation device (TOD) during the day, judging the possibility of enemy infiltration to be low. This is different from the current case in terms of responsibility.”

Concerning the incident on the early morning of the 16th of last month, when a North Korean man defected by crossing the coast near the Unification Observatory in Goseong, Gangwon Province, the military has been criticized for a total failure in vigilance, as he passed through a drainage channel not listed in the management records and triggered the surveillance equipment’s alarm twice without any response.