Vice President Drank on the Day of Executive Disappearance... Navy Says "President Managed the Situation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been reported that Chief of Naval Operations Bu Seok-jong held a drinking gathering with some staff members on the day a senior officer of a high-speed vessel went missing in the southern waters off Baengnyeongdo, the northernmost island in the West Sea. Inside and outside the military, there are criticisms that social gatherings should have been refrained from due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and that there was a lack of proactive response in the situation where a naval officer went missing.

According to the Navy on the 19th, Chief Bu attended a high-level policy meeting held at the Ministry of National Defense on the 8th and then returned to Daejeon. Afterwards, it is known that he had dinner and drank with three newly appointed staff members at the Chief's official residence.

The military is controlling all soldiers' leaves and outings to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and officers are also postponing or canceling private gatherings and drinking parties.

Later, around 10 p.m., Sergeant A of a 450-ton guided missile high-speed vessel went missing in the southern waters off Baengnyeongdo, and around 10:30 p.m., a text message notifying the missing incident was sent to key personnel at the Naval Headquarters via mobile phones. The Naval Headquarters immediately convened key personnel to form an emergency response team, and the Deputy Chief of Staff attended the meeting.

Regarding this, the Navy stated, "At the time of the missing person incident in the Baengnyeongdo waters, the emergency response team was convened, and the officer in charge of the response team, the Deputy Chief of Operations and Training (Colonel), monitored the situation and checked the measures taken," adding, "The Chief of Naval Operations also managed the situation by receiving telephone reports on the ongoing matters that day."

Additionally, the Navy said, "Although the Deputy Chief of Staff and the Chief of Staff were not subjects for convening the emergency response team, they additionally entered the command and control room to actively manage the situation and monitor it." They added, "The Chief received reports that day and was also present when reporting to the Minister of National Defense the following day."

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