'Geunilnalppeon' Bullet Hits Car While Driving... "Our Responsibility" Official Apology from US Military

No Casualties Occurred
USFK Commander Apologizes to Residents

Regarding the incident where a bullet flew and lodged into a vehicle driving near the US military shooting range in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province on the 24th of last month, the US military officially acknowledged and apologized eight days after the occurrence, stating that the accident happened during training.

According to the military and local residents on the 1st, General Willard Burleson, Commander of the US 8th Army in Korea, met with local residents at the Yeongpyeong Training Ground in Yeongjung-myeon, Pocheon City, around 2 p.m. that day.

At this meeting, Commander Burleson apologized, saying, "We fully accept responsibility for the accidental bullet incident that occurred on the 24th of last month."

On the 24th, a bullet flew into and lodged in a moving passenger car in Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, and authorities are investigating the incident. The photo shows the bullet lodged in the car window.
[Photo by Pocheon Police Station/Yonhap News]

Earlier, around 6:20 p.m. on the 24th of last month, a bullet flew and lodged into the window of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) driving on a national road in Yeongjung-myeon, Pocheon City. Fortunately, the driver was unharmed, but it could have led to casualties.

The accident site is about 1 km away from the US military shooting range. The bullet was a 5.56 mm rifle round, which the US military reportedly recovered immediately after the incident.

In response, Pocheon City held an emergency countermeasure meeting on the 26th of last month to discuss measures regarding the civilian vehicle damage incident. Later, around 5 p.m., together with the civilian countermeasure committee related to military facilities, they held a rally in front of the rear gate of the Yeongpyeong shooting range, demanding a halt to shooting at the Yeongpyeong shooting range until the cause of the accident was identified and safety measures were established.

As public opinion worsened, Commander Burleson promised, "We will close the firing lanes of the training ground where the accident occurred," and "We will take steps to prevent such accidents from happening again."

In Pocheon, in 2014, a bullet mistakenly fired from a training ground crossed a mountain and lodged into an office in a civilian area about 1 km away.

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