Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Strategy and Finance, on the 7th, regarding the incident in which Air Force fighter jets mistakenly bombed civilian areas causing 15 people to suffer serious and moderate injuries, instructed the military to "thoroughly investigate to clearly identify the cause of the accident and strictly hold those responsible accountable according to the results."
According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Acting President Choi received a report from the Ministry of National Defense's Accident Countermeasures Headquarters on the detailed circumstances of the accident and subsequent measures, and stated, "Prepare measures to prevent recurrence so that the public does not feel anxious."
Acting President Choi expressed, "As the military commander-in-chief, I extend my sincere condolences and apologies to the victims of the accident that occurred during military training."
He also instructed, "Actively support the treatment and medical care of the victims, promptly compensate for the damages, and restore the damaged facilities at an early stage."
He further stated, "Conduct a thorough analysis of the entire training process from the beginning and devise special measures to fundamentally prevent similar accidents in the future."
On the previous day, two KF-16 fighter jets flying over Nogok-ri, Idong-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, mistakenly dropped eight MK-82 air-to-ground bombs. The bombs fell about 8 km away from the target area, causing serious and moderate injuries to 10 civilians and 5 military personnel. The Air Force is investigating whether the pilot properly followed the three-step target coordinate verification procedure.
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