[2020 National Audit] "Military Ignored Prediction of 'North Korea Drift' Confirmed the Day After Disappearance"

On the 16th, at the confirmation hearing for Defense Minister nominee Seo Wook held at the National Assembly, Lee Chae-ik, a member of the People Power Party, is making remarks related to Hwang Hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. / 2020.09.16

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] It has been revealed that the Coast Guard reported to the military on the morning of the day after the disappearance of Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official A (47), who was shot by North Korean forces, predicting that A was drifting northwest near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), but the military did not even review it despite confirming the report.

According to data submitted by the Korea Coast Guard to Lee Chae-ik, a member of the National Assembly's Defense Committee from the People Power Party, on the 8th, the Incheon Coast Guard sent a search plan document with hourly drift prediction results for A around 9 a.m. on the 22nd to the Minister of National Defense through the Marine Corps Commander.

Although the document included a prediction that if A went missing at 8 or 9 a.m. on the 21st, he would be drifting northwest of Soyeonpyeongdo, only 5 to 6 km from the NLL, at 2 p.m. on the 22nd, both the Coast Guard and the military planned to search only the southern area of Soyeonpyeongdo on the 22nd, as they had the previous day.

The Marine Corps Commander immediately sent the document to the Naval Operations Command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Ministry of National Defense, but the military did not raise any objections to the Coast Guard's plan to search only south of Soyeonpyeongdo.

In fact, the Coast Guard and the military searched only the southern area excluding the northwest of Soyeonpyeongdo on the 21st and 22nd, and only expanded the search area northwestward on the 23rd, the day after A’s death.

Rep. Lee pointed out, "If the Coast Guard and the military had expanded the search area northwest of Soyeonpyeongdo based on the drift prediction results from the early stages of the disappearance, A might have been found before crossing into North Korean waters." In response, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official reportedly stated, "Since the Coast Guard establishes the search plan according to the Water Rescue Act, the military only supported the search with naval vessels and aircraft."

Rep. Lee stated, "The Coast Guard and the military cannot escape responsibility for not searching the northwest area of Yeonpyeongdo despite confirming the prediction that A was drifting near North Korean waters on the morning of the 22nd, before A’s death."

Rep. Lee also expressed doubts about the government's internal investigation. He said, "Currently, the Coast Guard is investigating the shooting incident of official A by North Korean forces with data cooperation from the Ministry of National Defense, but there are doubts whether an internal investigation by those responsible for the rescue failure can properly reveal the truth at that time," adding, "In this situation, President Moon Jae-in responded to the letter from the slain official’s son by saying, 'The Coast Guard is investigating various circumstances, so let’s wait for the Coast Guard’s investigation and search results.'"

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