Pohang Mayor Lee Gang-deok: "The Cause of the 'Marinon Helicopter' Accident Must Be Investigated and Accountability Ensured"

On the 3rd Anniversary of the Marine Corps Helicopter Crash on the 17th, Calls for Truth Investigation via Facebook

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Lee Gang-deok, mayor of Pohang, on the 3rd anniversary of the Pohang Marine Corps base 'Marinon helicopter' crash accident, urged the investigation of the cause of the accident, saying, "We must protect the soldiers who risk their lives to carry out their missions."

On the 17th, Mayor Lee posted on his Facebook, listing the names of the Marine personnel who died in the line of duty at the time, and wrote, "For the soldiers who suffered the unfortunate accident and the bereaved families who have endured grief and sorrow, the cause of the accident must be thoroughly investigated and responsibility must be held."

He added, "I hope Korea will be a country that takes full responsibility for precious lives until the end, and I request genuine interest and respect from the government and political circles."

The Marinon helicopter crashed around 4:45 p.m. on July 17, 2019, at the Pohang Airfield runway in Nam-gu, Pohang City, when the main rotor (main rotating blade) was damaged at the moment of takeoff from the runway for a practice flight before actual deployment.

As a result of this accident, five people died: Colonel Kim Jeong-il, Lieutenant Colonel No Dong-hwan, Sergeant Kim Jin-hwa, Staff Sergeant Kim Se-young, and Corporal Park Jae-woo. One person survived but suffered severe injuries including full-body burns and fractures.

In this regard, the bereaved families filed a complaint against the then president of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the manufacturer of the Marinon helicopter, on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and murder by implied intent, but the prosecution dismissed the charges only in early June, nearly three years later.

Meanwhile, the bereaved families and opposition parties have continuously demanded a thorough investigation, pointing out that no one took responsibility as then-president Kim Jo-won moved to the Blue House as the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs immediately after the accident.

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