Sergeant Posthumously Promoted for Marine Chae Su-geun Who Died in the Line of Duty During Missing Person Search

Missing Person Swept Away by Rapid Current During Flood Site Search Operation
Marines Deployed Without Life Jackets
Yoon "Sincerely Mourn... Will Honor as National Merit Recipient"

Corporal Chae Su-geun, a Marine who was swept away by a rapid current while searching for missing persons at the flood site of Naeseongcheon in Yecheon-gun, Gyeongbuk, has been posthumously promoted from Private First Class to Corporal.

The Marine Corps Command announced on the 20th that the posthumous promotion of the late Corporal Chae Su-geun had been approved. According to the Marine Corps, the authority to grant posthumous promotions to soldiers lies with commanders of colonel rank or higher, and Chae’s posthumous promotion was approved by the commander of the 1st Marine Division.

At the Kim Dae-sik Hall within the 1st Marine Division in Pohang, where a memorial altar for the late Corporal Chae Su-geun, who died while searching for missing persons, has been set up, Corporal Chae's mother is crying as she gently touches a photo of her son.

Corporal Chae belonged to the artillery battalion of the 1st Marine Division and was deployed to the flood site in the Yecheon area on the 18th. He went missing after being swept away by a rapid current around 9:10 a.m. the previous day. Two fellow Marines who fell into the water with him managed to escape by swimming, but Chae was carried away by the current. His body was found at 11:08 p.m. the same day, 14 hours after he went missing, about 400 meters downstream from Gopyeong Bridge on the right side of Naeseongcheon. Medical staff at the Navy Pohang Hospital confirmed his death, and Corporal Chae passed away at the young age of 20.

The issue is that the military authorities deployed the personnel for the search operation without providing life jackets. Choi Yong-seon, the Marine Corps Public Affairs Officer, explained at the Ministry of National Defense regular briefing that "Considering the situation at the time, it was appropriate to wear life jackets," and added, "Life jackets were not provided to those participating in the riverside search, and an investigation is underway to determine what judgment was made on site." Furthermore, the Marine Corps Command stated, "We mourn the Marine who died in the line of duty" and "We offer our deepest condolences and apologies to the bereaved families."

On the morning of the 19th, in Yecheon-gun, Gyeongbuk, one Marine who went missing after being swept away by a rapid current during a search operation is still unaccounted for, while fellow Marines wait anxiously for news of the rescue.

Meanwhile, President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed his sincere condolences for Corporal Chae Su-geun’s death. President Yoon said, "We will thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident to ensure that such incidents do not recur," and "We will provide the highest honors as a national merit to the late Corporal Chae Su-geun."

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