South Korea removes Army commander over border lapses
· UPIAug. 3 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's Defense Ministry relieved the commander of the Army's I Corps of his duties Monday amid investigations into unloaded weapons at front-line posts and the military's mistaken identification of a U.S. Marine Corps drone.
The ministry said Lt. Gen. Han Ki-sung was suspended from duty effective Monday while inspections and investigations involving the corps continue.
The commander of the Army Training and Doctrine Command will serve as acting corps commander during Han's suspension, the ministry said.
The action followed controversies over changes to border security procedures and a failure to share information about a U.S. military drone flight through the South Korean chain of command.
The Army's I Corps, which is responsible for part of the western front near the inter-Korean border, reportedly changed its operational guidelines during the first half of the year so live ammunition would not be loaded into K6 heavy machine guns and K4 automatic grenade launchers at general outposts and guard posts.
Ammunition was kept near the weapons but was not loaded for immediate use. Front-line units generally maintain crew-served weapons with live ammunition loaded.
A separate incident occurred Thursday when the South Korean military identified a U.S. Marine Corps drone participating in a joint exercise as an unidentified aircraft because its flight plan had not been properly reported to higher commands.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday that the incident resulted from communication errors between South Korean and U.S. personnel, combined with a breakdown in the South Korean military's reporting system.
According to the military, U.S. personnel notified an I Corps staff member by text message Wednesday that an additional drone mission had been scheduled.
The South Korean staff member responded that there appeared to be no significant restrictions but did not pass the information to supervisors or other relevant units.
A military official said the staff member apparently regarded the matter as routine and did not believe a separate report was necessary.
The U.S. side also sent a photograph of an official document concerning the flight approval process. The document reportedly specified that the drone would operate above a designated altitude.
A flight at that altitude required approval from the Air Force Operations Command, but the I Corps staff member considered it a matter that could be approved at the corps level and did not report or distribute the information.
The Joint Chiefs said U.S. personnel also failed to follow the required formal approval procedures.
Flights above and below specified altitudes require approval from the Air Force Operations Command and Ground Operations Command, respectively. A text notification one day before a flight does not replace the formal advance approval process.
The Joint Chiefs identified three major problems: the failure of the South Korean military's command reporting system, inconsistent compliance with procedures for flights in special-use airspace and the U.S. side's failure to obtain formal approval.
"The case confirmed the need for South Korea and the United States to comply with established airspace control procedures," a Joint Chiefs official said.
The military will improve its airspace coordination system through closer communication between the two allies, the official said.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260804010000747