Military Base Trainings Also Canceled One After Another Due to Wuhan Pneumonia

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] Due to the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), internal military training schedules and events are being canceled or postponed one after another.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 30th, in areas where novel coronavirus infections have occurred, reserve forces training and outdoor training have been suspended. Reserve forces training, which was planned to have 245,000 participants weekly starting March 2 this year, will all be halted. In particular, outdoor training is canceled at military units in regions where infections have been reported.

The Army has advised restraint in events such as the active duty enlistment culture festivals at the Army Training Center in Nonsan, Chungnam, and recruit training battalions of various units. Parents, families, and relatives who come with enlistees are not allowed to enter the training center or recruit training battalions and are asked to see them off outside the units. For enlistees, the health questionnaire and detailed medical examinations have been strengthened, including checks for fever and cough. If symptoms such as fever are present, they will be isolated at screening clinics. Screening clinics are medical facilities operated separately from general facilities for suspected patients with fever symptoms of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher.

Graduation and commissioning ceremonies scheduled for March at the Korea Military Academy, Korea Army Academy at Yeongcheon, and the Korea Air Force Academy will also be reviewed by the Ministry of National Defense for postponement or downsizing depending on the spread of Wuhan pneumonia.

The Army Headquarters' original musical production "Return," featuring celebrities serving in the military such as SHINee's Onew (real name Lee Jin-ki) and EXO's Xiumin (real name Kim Min-seok), has also been canceled. Performances scheduled in Goyang from the 7th to the 9th and in Ansan from the 21st to the 23rd of next month will not take place.

The Air Force had initially planned to hold the "Singapore International Airshow 2020 Mission Completion Resolution Ceremony" at the Wonju base on this day but postponed it as well. The Air Force's special flight team, the Black Eagles, was to hold the resolution ceremony at the 53rd Special Flight Squadron on this day, then take off from the Wonju 8th Fighter Wing on the 31st, traveling through Taiwan, the Philippines, and Malaysia, arriving at Singapore Changi International Airport on the 4th of next month. The airshow event is scheduled from the 11th to the 16th of next month. The Air Force is reportedly considering not participating in the event at all, given that confirmed cases of Wuhan pneumonia have also occurred in Southeast Asian countries.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense has deployed an additional 107 military medical personnel to the Incheon Airport quarantine station. A total of 106 medical personnel and general troops have already been deployed to 21 quarantine stations at airports and ports nationwide to support epidemiological investigations and quarantine duties.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.