Unidentified Wooden Boat Found in Lower Han River... Company Commander Arrested for Unauthorized Dismantling

The Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on April 7, when it began full-scale moving preparations. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Myunghwan] It was later revealed that a Marine Corps border unit in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, destroyed a wooden boat presumed to have come from North Korea without reporting it to superiors or evaluating it for air defense suspicion.

According to military authorities on the 17th, the military police have booked and are investigating Captain A, the company commander of the unit, on charges of dereliction of duty.

Captain A is suspected of destroying the unidentified wooden boat found near the military border post in the Han River estuary in Gimpo City in mid-July without reporting it according to procedure.

The wooden boat, large enough to carry 2 to 3 people, was found overturned with several holes in it. Although the boat was presumed to be from North Korea, Captain A did not report it to his superiors. As a result, the analysis and evaluation process for air defense suspicion, such as whether it was used for North Korean infiltration, was not conducted on the actual object.

Soldiers of the unit later reported this matter through the Defense Help Call.

After becoming aware of the destruction of the wooden boat, the Marine Corps conducted an inspection investigation, decided to initiate an investigation, and the military police booked Captain A earlier this month. Captain A reportedly stated, "I judged that it was not a wooden boat that people could board, so I gave such an order."

A military official stated, "After recognizing the matter, we analyzed photos and videos of the wooden boat afterward and judged that it was difficult to see that people had boarded it, so there was no air defense suspicion."

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